Tornado Tracker: Central Illinois Under Watch Wednesday Evening
Parts of central Illinois were under a Tornado Watch Wednesday evening as the tornado tracker showed severe weather threats moving south of the Chicago area. The Chicago region still faced flooding and a flood watch, even as the tornado risk shifted farther south.
The highest risk period ran from 2-6 p.m., when forecasters warned of winds up to 70 mph and isolated tornadoes. A few storms were still expected from 6-10 p.m., while the entire Chicago area remained under a Flood Watch until 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Central Illinois Watch
By Wednesday evening, parts of central Illinois were under the Tornado Watch, and parts of southern Wisconsin had a Tornado Warning later in the evening. The risk had moved further south by Wednesday, with parts of Kankakee, Kendall and Will counties and northwest Indiana under a Level 3 risk for severe weather.
The rest of the Chicago area was under a Level 2 risk. Illinois State University closed early at 2 p.m. because of the chance for severe weather, and a train was knocked off its tracks after strong storms blew through Monmouth, Illinois, on Wednesday morning.
Chicago Heights Flooding
Floodwater was gone by Wednesday evening in the south suburbs, but Ashley Saxon of Chicago Heights was still dealing with a flooded basement after storms rolled through. She said the water entered her home in 45 minutes and rose to knee-high in the basement.
"Again, this has happened multiple times," Saxon said about the flooding in her home. "It was just, like, a steady, slow rain, and I looked. It was clear," she said. "And, I sat down and in 45 minutes I came out and it had completely went into my house. I went downstairs, and it's all the way, like, knee-high."
Flights and Watches
Over 200 flights were canceled at O'Hare, and nearly 100 flights were canceled at Midway airport as the storm system moved through the region. The combination of a Tornado Watch in central Illinois and flood problems in the south suburbs left different parts of the area dealing with separate hazards at the same time.
For people in the Chicago area, the immediate concern Wednesday was the flood watch through 9 p.m. and the possibility of a few more storms between 6 and 10 p.m. For central Illinois, the watch meant continued tornado awareness as the severe weather line stayed active south of Chicago.
