Storms, Severe Weather Hit Chicago Area on Mother's Day

The Chicago area saw some storms and severe weather this Mother’s Day.

Scattered storms moved into parts of the Chicago area beginning around 3 p.m. Sunday and continued through the evening.

Tornado Warnings were issued just after 8 p.m. for Jasper and Newton counties in northwest Indiana. Those warnings remained in effect until 8:45 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

The warning said tornadoes and golf ball-size hail were possible.

A tornado was reported to have touched down in Collegeville, Ind. around 8:10 p.m. and was moving east at 30 mph, the NWS reported.

Much of the viewing area remained under a “slight” risk for severe weather Sunday, as storms produced frequent lightning, damaging winds and even hail. There was also the potential for a few tornadoes.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued for portions of central and northern Illinois and northwest Indiana.

The watch took effect just after 3 p.m. Sunday and remains in effect until 10 p.m in nearly all of the Chicago area.

The threat for storms includes isolated hail event with hail up to 2 inches in diameter possible and damaging wind gusts of up to 70 mph. A tornado or two is possible, according to the watch.

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was also issued for parts of McHenry, Lake, Kane and LaSalle counties. That warning was in effect until 5:30 p.m., but was extended until 6 p.m. for Lake and McHenry counties.

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was also in effect until 6:30 p.m. for Kendall, Kankakee, Livingston, Grundy and Ford counties and until 6:45 p.m. for parts of Cook and DuPage counties.

Southeastern Cook County and parts of Will County were under a warning until 7:30 p.m., which was also issued for Lake and Porter counties in Indiana.

Several area suburbs reported hail ranging from the size of a pea to a half-dollar. 

A Flash Flood Warning was also issued for parts of the Chicago area, including Grundy, Kankakee, Lake, Newton, Ford, Livingston, Iroquois, Cook, Kendall and Will counties.The warning remained in effect until 11 p.m.

Interstate 55 South at County Line Road was closed for several hours Sunday night due to flooding. All traffic was being diverted at County Line Road or Interstate 294. The lanes were reopened by 8 p.m.

O'Hare International Airport reported delays of more than an hour for inbound and outbound flights and canceled more than 130 flights Sunday.

Midway Airport reported delays of more than 30 minutes with minor cancellations.

Sunday morning's sunny skies and warmer temps teased area residents before severe weather moved in during the late afternoon and evening hours.

Temperatures are exepcted to stay warm, and possibly wet, through Monday.

Cooler temps are forecast to move in Tuesday, dipping into the 60s where they should stay for much of the week.
 

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