As a cold front approaches the Chicago area, severe weather could develop and bring showers and thunderstorms to the region.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for portions of Ogle, Lee, and DeKalb counties until 1 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Eastern Ogle and Lee counties, along with all of DeKalb County, are included in the warning. The storms are moving east at 45 mph, and are packing wind gusts of up to 60 mph, according to the warning.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was also issued for McHenry, DeKalb, Kane, LaSalle, Kendall, and Grundy counties, and will last until 2 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Showers and thunderstorms could develop out ahead of the slow-moving cold front, which is currently over Iowa. That front will slowly push toward the Chicago-area tonight and into the overnight hours, and while it will eventually bring some relief from the heat and humidity that has dominated the weather pattern over the work week, severe weather is possible out ahead of the front.
The Storm Prediction Center has placed the western suburbs under a “slight” risk for severe weather. Isolated tornadoes are possible with the storm, as well as ping-pong ball sized hail and wind gusts of up to 70 mph.
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Another big potential concern with the storms is the rain, which could become torrential at times. The slow-moving nature of the storms could cause already saturated areas to become flooded, and localized flooding is possible with the storms.
Fortunately for the area, Friday will bring relief from the heat and humidity, as sunny skies and high temperatures in the 70’s are in the forecast.
