A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for much of the Chicago area, with large hail, wind gusts and isolated tornadoes possible.
A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 8 p.m. CST on Thursday, extending across a large swath of northeastern Illinois and across northern Indiana, according to the National Weather Service.
Illinois’ Cook, LaSalle, Kendall, Grundy, Will and Kankakee counties are all affected, and Indiana’s Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton and Jasper counties are also under the watch, according to NWS officials.
The alert has been lifted for DeKalb, Kane and DuPage counties, officials said.
Severe thunderstorm warnings in effect for Kankakee County in northeastern Illinois, southwestern Lake County in northwestern Indiana and northern Newton County were lifted at 4:45 p.m.
WATCH: Live radar shows storm approaching Chicago area
The warning predicted wind gusts of up to 70 mph and scattered hail up to 2.5 inches in diameter (the size of a tennis ball).
Officials say isolated tornadoes are also possible as supercells develop.
The timing of the storm The first bursts of severe storms are expected north of Interstate 80 between 3:00 and 7:00 PM, though storms may pass south of that line earlier. Storms will spread further south of I-80 during the evening, affecting parts of central Illinois and a large portion of Indiana.
In addition to the aforementioned threats, heavy rainfall may result in flash flooding, especially in areas south of I-80.
