Chicago Forecast

Fourth of July Could Bring Severe Thunderstorms to Chicago Area

Northern Illinois is at a "slight risk" of severe weather on Monday

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

The Fourth of July could see a different kind of fireworks in the skies over the Chicago area, as most of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin will celebrate the holiday with the threat of severe weather in the forecast.

According to the Storm Prediction Center, all Illinois counties that are in the NBC 5 viewing area, including McHenry, Lake, DeKalb, Kane, DuPage, Cook, LaSalle, Kendall, Grundy, Will and Kankakee, are at a “slight risk” of severe weather on Monday.

A “slight risk” equals approximately a 40% chance of severe storms developing, per the NWS’ system.

Lake County in Indiana is also under the “slight risk” categorization. Porter, LaPorte, Newton and Jasper counties are at a “marginal risk” of severe storms, a step below that classification.

The main potential threats with the storms could include damaging hail, with most of northern Illinois at approximately a 15% chance of hail at least one inch in diameter or more, and possible tornadoes, with isolated twisters possible with the weather system as it moves through the region.

As for the time of arrival, it appears that the main threat of storms won’t arrive until the early-to-mid afternoon hours, starting out in the western suburbs and slowly filtering their way through the rest of the Chicago area in the mid-to-late afternoon.

High temperatures on Monday are expected to reach into the low-90s, providing plenty of fuel for potential storms to develop.

Chances for showers and thunderstorms will be in the forecast for most of the week, with those storms potentially firing each afternoon as an unsettled weather pattern gets rolling.

By Friday however that chance will begin to diminish, and cooler temperatures could also be on tap, with highs only forecast to reach around 80 degrees at the end of the work week.

Be sure to download the NBC 5 app and have push alerts active in order to receive the latest updates about any severe weather that could threaten the Chicago area.

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