Rounds of storms to pummel Chicago area; severe weather possible with hail, tornadoes

Editor's Note: An updated weather story and timeline for Wednesday, April 2 can be found here. Our original story from this morning continues below.

Many across the Chicago area Wednesday woke up to stormy weather with rain, thunder and more as the first of multiple rounds of showers and storms pushed through much of Illinois and northwest Indiana.

"It's going to be wet out there this morning," NBC 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Iisha Scott warned. "Your commute is going to be slick."

MORE: Chicago-area residents asked to delay showers, use less water ahead of heavy rain

As of 5 a.m., Live Doppler 5 Radar showed heavy rain, lightning and even hail pummeling counties to the south and west, including Will, Kankakee, Grundy, LaSalle and moving into DuPage and southern Cook.

"The south suburbs have really been getting soaked this morning," Scott said. "The storms are packing a punch."

Gusty storms will continue over the next few hours, Scott said, lifting northeast around 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.

As of early Wednesday, traffic and crashes was already starting to build, NBC 5 traffic reporter Kye Martin said, including southbound lanes on I-294 blocked near Touhy due to a jackknifed semi with a fuel spill.

Flight troubles were also stacking up. According to FlyChicago, Midway International Airport was reporting 27 flights canceled.

About 5:38 a.m., the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground delay at O'Hare International Airport, with departures delayed an average of 134 minutes due to thunderstorms.

After 7 a.m., ground stops or delays were possible at both O'Hare and Midway due to storms, the FAA said.

Flooding, power outages and downed tree branches were also reported. According to ComEd's outage map, nearly 1,400 people in the Chicago area were without power as of 7:30 a.m. The majority of outages were in Cook County.

Next round of storms

While Wednesday morning's storms were strong, they were non-severe, Scott said. Into the afternoon and evening, however, severe weather chances will ramp up, with much of the Chicago area under an "enhanced" risk. According to the Storm Prediction Center, "enhanced" ranks as level three of five.

Along the Wisconsin-Illinois state line, counties to the north and west will be under a "slight" risk of severe weather, which ranks as level two of five.

According to Scott, showers and storms Wednesday afternoon and evening would not be as widespread. Still, the greatest threats associated would be flash flooding, damaging winds of up to 60 miles per hour, 1-inch hail and even tornadoes.

Timing of the strongest storms are likely to occur between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m., Scott said.

Outside of the storms, Wednesday will be windy, Scott said, with gusts up to 45 mph at times throughout the day. At 12 p.m., a wind advisory will go into effect for LaSalle, Grundy, and Kankakee Counties in Illinois and Newton County Indiana, according to the National Weather Service.

Wednesday will also be warm, with temperatures in the 60s and nearing 70, Scott said. Temperatures would drop into the 50s Thursday and Friday, with the next chance for rain coming Friday evening.