Chicago braces for severe weather with damaging wind, hail

CHICAGO - Millions of people from portions of the Midwest through the Great Lakes region, including those in places such as Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee, are keeping their eyes to the sky and bracing for severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging wind gusts and large hail Tuesday.

This renewed threat comes after severe weather slammed areas of the Midwest on Monday and into the early hours of Tuesday morning, knocking out power to more than 150,000 utility customers in Minnesota alone.

32 million facing higher severe weather threat on Tuesday

This graphic shows the severe weather threat on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024.

More than 49 million people from the central Plains to the Northeast will be at risk of seeing strong to severe thunderstorms Tuesday.

However, NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has highlighted areas of the Midwest and Great Lakes region where the risk is higher.

More than 32 million people in eight states have been placed in a Level 2 out of 5 risk on the SPC’s 5-point severe weather risk scale.

This includes those living in, working in or traveling to cities such as Chicago, Milwaukee and Green Bay in Wisconsin, Detroit, Lansing and Saginaw in Michigan, and Cleveland in Ohio.

Forecasters said the main threats from severe thunderstorms that do develop Tuesday will be large hail and damaging wind gusts.

However, a brief tornado or two cannot be ruled out.