The Chicago area remains at risk for severe weather Tuesday night, with the National Weather Service warning of the possibility of damaging wind gusts and tornadoes late in the evening.
According to a hazardous weather outlook issued Tuesday afternoon, NWS officials warned of an “increased risk of tornadoes” associated with the storm, which will move into Iowa before crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois in the afternoon. and is expected to cross Missouri.
These storms could “outpace” the front heading into the region and take away some of its fuel, but the storms are expected to maintain organization and hit the region with a variety of severe weather threats. There is.
Officials said this could include tornadoes and wind gusts exceeding 120 km/h in some places.
The Storm Prediction Center says there remains an “increased risk” of severe weather across northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana. This is the third of five categories used to estimate the likelihood of a storm occurring.
SPC estimates there is about a 10% chance of a tornado occurring within a 45-mile radius in parts of Chicago’s western suburbs, including McHenry, DeKalb, Kane, LaSalle, Kendall and Grundy counties. . The chance of a tornado in Lake, Cook, DuPage and Will counties drops to 5%, while the chance of a tornado in other areas is non-zero.
The greatest risk of tornado activity is along and to the west of Interstate 39, but tornadoes are possible anywhere around the area.
The biggest threat is high winds, which can exceed 125 miles per hour. SPC’s current estimates are that there is a 30% chance of experiencing wind gusts greater than 80 mph within a 40-mile radius of your residence.
Officials said the storm’s activity schedule is between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m., with temperatures becoming cooler as the front moves through.
Even if severe storms do not affect specific areas, wind speeds could reach 40 to 50 miles per hour, officials said.
Be sure to download the NBC Chicago app for all the latest forecast news. Also, get push alerts for watches and warnings in your area before a storm.
When a tornado warning occurs, NBC Chicago goes into regular programming to provide updates. Its newscasts are also available on the NBC Chicago app and various streaming platforms such as Roku and Xumo.
