Chicago Weather Alert: Severe Storms Prompt Tornado Warnings For City Of Chicago And Numerous Other Areas
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Tornado warnings were issued for parts of the Chicago area during the midday hours Saturday amid severe storms that also brought pouring, drenching rain.
After a couple hours of relative calm, a new string of tornado warnings was issued for parts of Will, Kankakee, Grundy, and Livingston counties until 4:30 p.m.
A tornado warning was subsequently issued for southeast Cook County, east central Will County, and west central Lake County, Indiana until 5 p.m.
The rotating storms were likely wrapped in rain with the torrential downpours as they headed northeast. The rotation is tighter with this system than some of the earlier ones.
A couple of hours earlier, a tornado warning was issued for southern Cook County as well as Will County and Lake County, Indiana until 2:45 p.m.
Earlier, a tornado warning was issued for parts of the City of Chicago; it expired at 12:15 p.m.
The National Weather Service reported that at 11:49 a.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was spotted over East Garfield Park and West Town.
The system moved northeast toward Lakeview, Uptown and Edgewater. The NWS reported the rotation moved out over the northern part of the Loop area.
CBS 2 Meteorologist Robb Ellis reported rotation was seen moving over the Eisenhower and Kennedy expressways, but went on to move out over Lake Michigan.
However, the warning was kept in place for several minutes afterward for Central Cook County due to concerns about rotation in Forest View.
A flash flood warning has also been issued for parts of the eastern Cook, central DuPage, and northwest Will County until 6:15 p.m.
Heavy pouring rain persisted as of noon throughout the area, including Woodridge and Naperville - which were hit by an EF-3 tornado just this past Sunday.
A separate tornado warning was issued for southwest Will County just to the south and east of Joliet until noon, and a third was issued for southern Grundy County and Livingston County until 12:30 p.m.
Ellis reported the Grundy County storm system had the most severe rotation and was the most dangerous of the systems.
Gusty winds were also seen from O'Hare International Airport to Bloomingdale, which Ellis identified as areas of concern.
A tornado watch was also issued for Cook County and parts south and east until 7 p.m., and a flash flood watch has been issued for the entire Chicago area with the exception of Lake County through Sunday morning.
Ellis reported more tornado warnings are possible throughout the afternoon, though he does not expect any storms on the level of last Sunday.
