Hours after morning severe thunderstorms brought heavy downpours, claps of thunder and winds as high as 70 miles-per-hour to multiple Chicago-area counties, a second round of potentially strong storms is set to move into the region Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service said.
"Another round of severe storms is possible tonight," the NWS said in a tweet. "There remains some uncertainty as to whether storms can develop, but if they do, they will be capable of all hazards: damaging wind/hail, brief tornadoes and heavy rain."
According to the NWS, the second round of potential storms could arrive between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday, and impact nearly all of Northeastern Illinois, stretching as far west as Rockford and Dixon.
Earlier Wednesday, a fast-moving line of severe thunderstorms blew through DuPage, McHenry, Lake, Kane and parts of Cook County in Illinois, as well as in Kenosha county in Wisconsin.
"This storm has had a history of 60 to 70 mile per hour wind gusts and tree damage," an alert from the NWS said as the storms raced through. "Expect considerable tree damage," the alert said, adding that counties under the warning were to also expect "damage to roofs, siding and trees" as well as "penny-sized hail."
In McHenry county, officials reported roads closed after multiple downed tree branches and powerlines. In Lake County, officials responded to reports of a structure fire caused by lightning.
Local
According to ComEd's Power outage map, both McHenry and Lake County saw power outages affecting nearly 3,000 customers.
RADAR: Track live weather as severe thunderstorm warnings issued for Chicago area
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Potential for strong to severe storms Wednesday afternoon
Another cluster of storms Wednesday afternoon could bring again bring heavy downpours, strong wind gusts and frequent lightning to northern Illinois, the NWS said, with the main threats expected before 12:30 p.m.
However, storm development could come later, with storm potential lasting through sunset, NBC 5 Meteorologist Kevin Jeanes said,
Any storms that do develop, NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman said, could be strong to severe, with "all weather hazards at play," including large hail, damaging winds and even a low tornado threat.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, Parts of northeastern Illinois, including McHenry, Lake, Kane, DuPage, Cook, Will and Kankakee counties, are at a “slight risk,” of severe weather, which ranks at level two of five.
Some parts of Northern Indiana however could see an "enhanced" risk of severe weather, the Storm Prediction Center said.
Heat Advisory in place for some Chicago area counties
According to an alert from the NWS, Grundy, LaSalle, Kankakee and Will Counties in Illinois, along with Newton and Jasper Counties in Indiana are all under a Heat Advisory until 9 p.m. Wednesday.
In those areas, peak heat index values of 100 to 105 can be expected, the alert advised.
"Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illness to occur," the alert said. "Drink plenty of fluids, study in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances."
According to the NBC 5 Storm Team, temperatures elsewhere in the Chicago area are expected to reach well into the 90s, remaining only slightly cooler near the lake, and dewpoints are expected to rise, making for "very muggy conditions" into the afternoon, Roman said.
For example, O'Hare International Airport is expected to hit a high of 93 degrees. However, high dewpoint temperatures are likely to make that temperature feel like 102, the NBC 5 Strom Team said.
"Definitely more humid today than the last few days -- and you will notice it," Roman warned.
Heat, humidity continues through Thursday and Friday
Forecast models show the heat and humidity is expected to continue through the end of the week, with highs again in the 90s, and heat indices reaching over 100 degrees.
By Saturday and into next week however, temperatures are expected to lower back down into the 80s, forecast models show.
