Tornado Watch for entire Chicago area as severe storms race east; tornadoes, funnel clouds reported northwest
A tornado watch has expanded to the entire Chicago area as two rounds of severe storms that could spawn twisters and bring hail, flooding and straight line winds up to 90 miles per hour race towards us from the west Friday evening.
A Tornado Watch has been issued for Boone, De Kalb, La Salle, Lee, McHenry, Ogle and Winnebago counties until 8 p.m. and for Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Ford, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, Iroquois, Livingston and Willi counties until 11 p.m.
The first round of storms raced across northwestern Illinois, but curved north before they reached the Chicago area and veered off into Wisconsin instead of into the Chicago area.
A tornado has been reported in Lena, Illinois, about 47 miles west of Rockford. That tornado reportedly damaged both the high school and elementary school, passing over while students were still inside. Law enforcement are warning people to stay away due to intensive storm damage.
in Machesney Park in Winnebago County, people snapped pictures of funnel clouds as the first round of storms raced throgh.
The second, later round of storms will arrive in a line that will impact the entire Chicago area, producing straight-line winds that could range from 60 to up to 90 miles per hour. They're expected to arrive in the Chicago area around 8 p.m. and last for several hours. Storms should be tapering off by midnight.
The highest risk for tornadoes is in this later round of storms, in the western suburbs, between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
This line of storms could cause severe damage from high winds. Brief spin-up tornados, flash flooding and hail are also risks.
Thunderstorms could drop anywhere from one to three inches of rain, again inundating our already-soaked ground and raising the overall flood risk, as well as creating potential for some flash flooding.
A Flood Watch is also in effect for the entire Chicago area, as storms will bring 1 to 2 inches of rain most places, and as high as 3 inches in some areas.
More than 51 million people are under the threat of severe weather tonight from Texas to Wisconsin. In Illinois, the water level of the Des Plaines and Fox rivers are already high and those communities are already dealing with flooding, a situation Friday night's storms will only worsen.
The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Warning for areas along the Fox River until further notice.
ComEd said it is taking proactive steps ahead of Friday night's weather, especially with such high winds expected. They said they are assessing conditions and staging crews based on the forecast to respond to reported power outages as quickly as possible.
If you spot a downed power line tonight, immediately call ComEd at 1-800-EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661). Spanish speaking customers can call 1-800-95-luces (1-800-955-8237). Never approach a downed power line and always assume it is live and extremely dangerous.
If the power goes out in your area, report it to ComEd either by texting OUT to 26233, call 1-800-EDISON1, or report outages through the ComEd website.
