Severe storms pelt Chicago suburbs with rain, hail and wind
CHICAGO - A ground stop was issued at both Chicago airports Thursday morning as severe storms throttled the area.
Flights leaving and arriving at O'Hare and Midway airports were paused around 6:30 a.m. due to weather, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The ground stops were lifted around 9 a.m.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was in effect until 8:30 a.m. in Lake County and Newton County, Indiana. Hail is the primary hazard along with damaging straight-line winds.
Showers and storms are advancing northward from roughly the I-80 corridor. They will continue through the morning impacting the commute. Heavy rainfall and small hail are the primary hazards this morning.
There will be a few dry hours around midday before the second round of showers and storms flares up.
There is a risk of severe storms during the 4-7 p.m. time frame with a nod to Chicago's southern suburbs as having the highest likelihood of those storms. A few lingering light showers could continue later tonight.
Highs today will range from around 50 degrees in our northern counties to the mid/upper 60s in the southern counties. O’Hare will likely top out close to 60 degrees. Yesterday, it hit 69 degrees at O'Hare and Midway with 70 degrees at Aurora, Joliet and Valparaiso. The lakefront and Waukegan were impacted by the cold front, as expected, which held highs to 59 degrees there.
Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy in the morning followed by clearing skies and highs in the lower 50s. Saturday will be dry and rather mild boding well for St. Patrick’s festivities in the city. Highs will be not far from 60 degrees.
On Sunday, it will be chilly for the actual St. Patrick’s Day. Under mainly-cloudy skies, highs will be in the low to mid 40s.