Howling winds—the kind which invert umbrellas and make walking a challenge—rake the metro area Thursday, gusting to 50 m.p.h.—a velocity at which damage can begin to occur. These gales are buffeting a vast region over which November’s 2nd major storm, and easily its most intense, is draped. The same powerful updrafts which lift and cool inflowing Gulf moisture generating clouds and precipitation while producing low barometric pressures, drive huge wind fields like Thursday’s.
Rain falls vigorously at times from Chicago east into Indiana Thursday. The range in precipitation totals across the metro area is likely to be stunning. Some sections of northern Indiana are likely to see 2-3” amounts while Chicago and its immediate western suburbs may measure 0.40” to 1.10”. Farther west, amounts should decline rapidly.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
