Community Corner
Northern Illinois Under Tornado Watch
Portions of Illinois, including parts of the Chicago metropolitan area, are under a "high risk" for severe weather.
A tornado watch has been issued for most of Illinois, except for far southern portions of the state, until 4 p.m. today.
According to the Hazardous Weather Outlook issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) at 8:50 a.m. today, severe thunderstorms are forecast to form ahead of a cold front that is expected to arrive this afternoon.
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has placed a large swath of Illinois, including parts of the Chicago metropolitan area and south, in the "high risk" category for severe storms.
"The primary severe weather threats will be damaging winds and the potential for strong, very damaging, and long-lived tornadoes," according to the Hazardous Weather Outlook.
Wind gusts in excess of 75 miles per hour are possible, according to the outlook.
The greatest potential for severe weather in the Chicago metropolitan area is from about 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to a NWS Chicago meteorologist who held a live radio weather briefing just after 9 a.m. today.
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