A tornado watch was issued for several Chicago-area counties on Tuesday as a burst of severe weather threatened the region with potential tornadoes, destructive winds and large hail.
The watch, which was issued until 11 p.m., covers Grundy, LaSalle and Kankakee counties in Illinois as well as Jasper and Newton counties in northwest Indiana.
At around 4:30 p.m., NBC 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Iisha Scott was tracking a storm system from Pontiac that prompted a tornado warning in Livingston County until 5:30 p.m. The storm was expected to reach the following cities at these estimated times:
Dwight – 5:02 p.m. Mazon – 5:21 p.m. Braidwood 5:41 p.m. Channahon – 6:02 p.m. Joliet – 6:24 p.m.A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for parts of south-central Cook County, southeastern DuPage County and northwestern Will County until 6 p.m. Southwestern Kankakee County was also under a severe thunderstorm warning until 6 p.m.
Amid the severe weather threat, the Storm Prediction Center placed areas south of Interstate 80 under a “moderate” risk for severe storms, a level four out of five. A risk level so high is rarely issued for the Chicago area.
Suburbs like Joliet, Kankakee, Frankfort, Morris and more will be under the moderate risk category, where a tornado risk sits at 15%.
Track the latest conditions in real-time with Live Doppler 5 radar here.
A large swath of the region, including much of Cook County, is under an “enhanced” risk of severe weather, which ranks as level three of five.
Possibly intense tornadoes are possible across the “moderate” and “enhanced” risk regions as the storm system pushes through.
The tornado threat is expected to last through at least 10 p.m. for most locations but could extend later across northwest Indiana. Southern communities are at the greatest risk, as the air is the most unstable.
Scott said temperatures sat in the low-to-mid 60s in the region, compared to cooler conditions in northern parts of the viewing area.
As storms develop, the main threats will be hail over two inches, potentially damaging winds of around 70 miles per hour and flash flooding. A flash flood watch is in effect for DuPage, Grundy, Kankakee, Kendall and LaSalle counties, as well as parts of Cook and Will counties. Lake and Porter counties in northwest Indiana are also included.
There is potential for the formation of one or two supercells, often considered one of the most dangerous types of storms, capable of producing “high winds, large hail, and strong tornadoes,” according to Jeanes and National Weather Service.
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“A supercell is an often-dangerous thunderstorm with a very organized internal structure including a rotating updraft that allows it to keep going for up to several hours,” the NWS reports.
Scott said at around 4:30 p.m., any storms that develop over the next few hours will be more isolated and primarily along and south of Interstate 80. At around 6 and 7 p.m., the storms will likely become more widespread. By 8 and 9 p.m., numerous storms will be in place as heavy rain moves through the area.
Then around midnight, the severe weather threat goes down.
While the greatest tornado threat will stay south and west of Chicago, other parts of the area will also see the potential for stormy conditions.
According to the NWS, Lake County and counties to the north Tuesday will be under a “slight” risk of severe weather, which ranks as level two of five. There, the biggest weather threats will be large hail, flash flooding and strong winds, gusting as high as 60 miles per hour.
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