Meteorologists are warning about strong to severe weather in northern Illinois that could bring tornadoes, along with wind gusts up to 70 mph and hail, Thursday afternoon into the evening.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a hazardous weather outlook on Thursday morning for Lake, McHenry, Winnebago, Kane, Cook, Will, DuPage, Boone, Ogle, Lee, DeKalb, LaSalle, Kendall, Grundy, Kankakee, Livingston, Iroquois and Ford counties.
The outlook said portions of northeast and north central Illinois will see a thunderstorm risk and elevated wind risk.
The NWS said waves of showers and thunderstorms are expected throughout the day on Thursday.
The timing for the primary severe weather threat is expected between 3 and 9 p.m., the NWS said.
The outlook said damaging winds in excess of 70 mph and possible tornadoes will be the primary severe threats. Hail up to a quarter in size is also possible.
The greatest threat of tornadoes later Thursday will be across northwestern Illinois near Interstate 39 and west.
The NWS has rated the area as a Level 3 of 5 for tornado risk and a Level 3 of 5 for damaging wind risk.
Locally heavy rainfall will accompany the storms and may result in some instances of flooding, particularly in low-lying areas, the outlook said.
Gusty southerly winds up to 45 to 50 mph are expected outside of thunderstorms.
The NWS said additional waves of showers and storms are possible on Friday afternoon into Saturday morning. A few of the storms may be severe.
Residents are urged to have multiple ways to get weather warnings and stay up-to-date on the forecast.