(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A tornado watch remains in place for much of the Chicago region Wednesday evening, and weather officials have been issuing temporary tornado warnings in various hotspots.
The tornado watch, in place until 10 p.m., was the latest alert to hit Chicagoland on Wednesday. A flood warning and flood watch had already been issued for the region, with the former expiring at 4:30 p.m. and the latter expiring at 7 p.m.
NWS officials issued the tornado watch for Boone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago Counties.
In addition to the possibility of tornadoes, officials said isolated hail — up to 2 inches in size — and wind gusts up to 70 mph could hit the affected areas.
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On Tuesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation for several Illinois counties, including Cook, in order to provide local governments with increased access to state resources.
Several rounds of storms were already on tap for Wednesday through the afternoon, AccuWeather said.
Central Cook County is the area most at risk for flash flooding, the NWS said. In cases of flash flooding, those near rivers and creeks should be on alert.
The rainy day also impacted air travel. As of 1 p.m., 328 flights were canceled at O'Hare. At Midway Airport, 34 flights were called off. Delays at both airports were averaging nearly 40 minutes.
Storms were expected to continue in the region through Friday.
Stay tuned to WBBM Newsradio for the latest forecasts and breaking weather news.
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