NOTE: Severe weather alerts for the Chicago area can be found below. Check the latest alerts for your area here.
A ground stop was issued for O'Hare International Airport Monday night and Metra trains on several lines were stopped as severe weather threatening wind gusts of more than 80 mph hammered the Chicago area.
Interstate 55 is closed in both directions in suburban Will County after multiple crashes occurred in the area, according to officials.
According to Total Traffic, power lines are down across all lanes of traffic, and the duration of the closure is unknown at this time.
Trains on the Union Pacific North line remain halted due to high winds in the area, with Milwaukee District North trains experiencing significant delays.
Union Pacific West trains are also stopped due to high winds, as are trains on the BNSF Line.
SouthWest Service trains are delayed due to the inclement weather, as are trains on the Electric Line, according to Metra officials.
Local
Flights to and from O'Hare were also temporarily grounded because of storms.
The entire area was placed under a tornado watch earlier Monday evening, and a tornado warning was issued for Kane, McHenry and DuPage counties. The watch remains in effect until 1 a.m. CT, while tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were also issued across the area.
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Storms moving into parts of the region were reported to be "capable of hail up to golf ball size and 60 mph winds."
Just before the alert was issued, the National Weather Service warned a "complex of destructive storms" was moving into northwest Illinois.
"Have multiple ways to receive warnings tonight and be ready to seek shelter if one is issued for your area," the agency posted on X.
The Chicago area had already been upgraded to a moderate risk of severe weather as the threat for damaging storms heightened in the lead-up to the system's arrival.
The moderate risk is a level four out of five. Previously, the region had been under an "enhanced" risk, or a level three out of five.
"Severe thunderstorms are expected through this evening across portions of the Midwest, central High Plains, lower Great Lakes, and Arizona. The greatest potential for severe gusts is over eastern Iowa into Illinois and Indiana," the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center said in its update.
Wind speeds of up to 85 mph are possible, with widespread gusts in excess of 60 miles per hour in the forecast.
