A wind advisory and a fire weather watch were issued Monday for parts of the Chicago area, the National Weather Service said, with dry air and gusty winds of up to 50 miles-per-hour possible at times.
According to the NWS, a wind advisory will go into effect at 9 a.m. for Cook, DuPage, DeKalb, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties in Illinois, and Kenosha county in Wisconsin, with strong winds expected to last through Monday evening.
"The wind is not going to lighten up until the overnight hours," NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman said.
According to the NWS, winds could gust as high as 50 mph, especially in areas to the north and west. Southwest winds of 20 to 30 mph could be expected, with frequent gusts up to 45 mph.
"Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects," the NWS warned. "Winds this strong can make driving difficult to hazardous, especially in high profile vehicles on north to south roadways. Small or dead tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result."
In addition to a wind advisory, a fire weather watch Monday afternoon will go into effect for nearly all of Northeastern Illinois, the NWS said, due to the conditions.
Fire weather watch
Local
A fire weather watch will also go into effect Monday, the NWS said, for all counties in the Chicago area as well as Lake County in Indiana.
The watch goes into effect at 12 p.m., Monday, the NWS said.
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The watch was issued due to the dry air and strong, gusty winds, Roman said, which lead to heightened fire danger. Such watches are typically issued over the summer months, Roman noted.
Southwest winds gusting at times over 40 mph and dry conditions will lead to an elevated fire danger this afternoon. Outdoor burning should be postponed to another day. Use caution with the disposal of smoking materials. #ilwx #inwx pic.twitter.com/CxUYoPl0iq
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) January 27, 2025
"Any grass or brush fires that ignite may have the potential to quickly spread out of control," the NWS said. "Use extreme caution when disposing of smoking materials."
The fire weather watch will be in effect through 6 p.m., the NWS said, as gusty winds continue into the afternoon and evening hours.
According to the NWS , the strongest winds and highest fire danger will be near and north of I-80.
Warmer temperatures
While Monday started out in the single digits, temperatures will rise into the mid-40s by Monday afternoon, Roman said.
Mild temperatures in the 40s were expected to remain in the forecast through the week, Roman said, with temperatures near 50 degrees on Thursday.
"All that cold air we had last week has moved far away from us," Roman said.