Chicago weather: Tornado Watch and Flood Watch for parts of Chicago area as severe thunderstorms approach
Severe weather bringing heavy rainfall, damaging winds, flooding and stronger tornadoes is barreling toward Chicago Wednesday afternoon.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect for Jasper, Lake, Newton and Benton counties in Indiana until 3 p.m.
Rain, lightning and rumbling thunder reached the Loop by 1:40 p.m.
A Flash Flood Warning is in effect for Kankakee County until 3:45 p.m. Already the county has seen two inches of rain fall in the last hour.
A Tornado Watch is in effect for Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, Livingston, Kankakee and Will counties in Illinois and Benton, Jasper, Lake, Newton and Porter counties in Indiana until 7 p.m. CDT (8 p.m. EDT). CBS News Chicago Meteorologist Albert Ramon said it is possible the watch could be extended further north into Cook County as well.
The Chicago area could start getting tornado warnings as early as 2:30 p.m. The largest risk of tornadoes stretches from Ottawa to Chicago's Loop, but particularly the South Side of the city, and into Northwest Indiana. The strongest storms are expected to the south and southeast.
The National Weather Service has also issued a Flood Watch for Cook, DuPage, Will, Grundy, Kankakee, Kendall, La Salle and Livingston counties until 8 p.m.
Chicago is squarely in the center of the greatest flooding risk Wednesday, with 1 to 3 inches of rain expected to fall in less than six hours. In some areas, 4 inches of rainfall in that time is possible.
Humid conditions will add to the intensity of the storms this afternoon and evening throughout the area.
The strong storms will taper off and be out of our area between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., but lingering showers will continue through the night and into Thursday. That continued rain could exacerbate flooding.
Following the storms is a building heat wave, with humidity levels that will push the heat index above 100 throughout the Chicago area. Record-tying high temperatures are expected Sunday.
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