Chicago-area residents hoping for a clear Fourth of July may be out of luck, with forecasters warning of several rounds of severe storms capable of disrupting fireworks shows Friday.
Forecasters are warning of hail, heavy downpours, and wind gusts reaching up to 60 mph. The first round of storms began pushing in around lunchtime Friday, with severe thunderstorm warnings already issued in counties to the far west of the city. A tornado warning was also issued in parts of southeastern Wisconsin just before 12:30 p.m. local time.
NBC 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Claudia Olech said the afternoon storms “could pack a little of a punch,” with that first round expected to taper off around 3 p.m. A second, potentially stronger round is expected to roll through Friday evening.
Which Counties Are Under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch
A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 7 p.m. CT across a wide stretch of the Chicago area and neighboring Indiana counties. The counties currently under the watch include:
Illinois: DeKalb, LaSalle, Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will.
Indiana: Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter.
Active Warnings
As of 2:30 p.m. local time, two severe thunderstorm warnings remained active. One covered parts of southeastern Kendall, northwestern Will, and northeastern Grundy counties, running until 2:45 p.m. The other applied to southeastern Cook County and was set to expire at 3:15 p.m.
A tornado warning was issued just before 12:30 p.m. for parts of southeastern Wisconsin, covering sections of Walworth, Racine, and Kenosha counties. The National Weather Service reported a tornado near Borners Lake, close to Lake Geneva, moving east at 50 mph. Sirens went off in Elgin just before 1 p.m. as a strong storm passed through.
Fireworks Shows Already Taking a Hit
Thursday’s storms already caused problems, bringing lightning and flash flooding to parts of the area and forcing some Fourth of July events to cancel due to what organizers called dangerous weather conditions. The Friday storms are adding more uncertainty, with several suburbs having already called off their July 3 fireworks shows ahead of the weekend.