A tornado watch remains in effect for the entire Chicago area until 9 p.m. Thursday as forecasters expect a rare “moderate risk” of severe weather.
There will be strong tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail.
Parts of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin are also included in the tornado watch as described by the National Weather Service.
EF-2 tornadoes are expected to carry wind speeds of 103 to 142 mph and can move entire houses off their foundations, as described by forecasters.
The biggest threat from tornadoes comes from another batch of storms that will develop after 6 p.m. 16.00 and extend until 10 p.m. Thursday. Another inch of rain may fall during this period.
The severe weather event follows cleanup efforts from Tuesday’s storm, which left over 130,000 ComEd customers without power. At the peak of Tuesday’s storm, more than 400,000 ComEd customers experienced outages.
Chicago O’Hare and Midway airports were ordered to halt ground operations around noon, with over 500 flights canceled at O’Hare alone.
Authorities are asking residents to make sure cell phone alarms are activated and “listen for warnings from officials.”
