A tornado watch remains in effect for the entire Chicago area until 9:00 p.m. Thursday, as forecasters expect a rare “moderate risk” of severe weather.
There will be strong tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail.
Parts of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin are also included in the tornado watch as outlined by the National Weather Service.
EF-2 tornadoes are expected to have wind speeds of 103 to 142 mph and can knock entire homes off their foundations, as described by meteorologists.
The greatest tornado threat comes from a second round of storms that will develop after 4 pm and last until 10 pm Thursday. Another inch of rain could fall during this period.
The severe weather event comes after cleanup efforts from Tuesday’s storm, which left more than 130,000 ComEd customers without power. At the height of Tuesday’s storm, more than 400,000 ComEd customers experienced outages.
Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports must suspend ground operations around noon, and more than 500 flights have been canceled at O’Hare alone.
Officials are asking residents to make sure cell phone alerts are enabled and “heed warnings from officials.”
