WGN Weather Center Blog

Lake-effect snow arrives,, snow piling up in the northern suburbs

Sat, 25 Dec 2010 19:24:50 -0600

Bands of lake-effect snow are moving inland into the Chicago area this evening covering areas from the Wisconsin state line south to Kankakee. Some of the heavier lake-effect snows are occurring north of the city. In Deerfield, visibilities dropped to about 1/2 mile as the snow quickly accumulated to about 1/4 inch. Farther north in Beach Park 1.7 inches of snow fell in just 45 minutes.

Lake effect snow advisories remain in effect for lakeside areas in the Chicago Metro area tonight and Sunday. Total accumulations should be in the 3-6 inch range.

Conditions will be quite variable as the snow bands oscillate through the area. Visibilities will drop to less than 1/4 mile in the heaviest snow bands,

Severe weather potential for northern Illinois grows

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 01:49:38 -0600

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for much of west central and southwest Wisconsin, a small portion of northeast Iowa and the extreme northwest corner (Carroll, Jo Daviess, and Stephenson Counties) of Illinois until 5AM CDT. At 1:45AM a line of thunderstorms from Central Wisconsin into northeast and north central Iowa was moving east at 35 to 40 mph. Heavy rainfall downpours of an inch or so in a half hour with localized flooding and winds 50 to 65 mph uprooting and breaking branches of some trees has been reported with some of the stronger thunderstorms.

The outflow winds from these storms could set the stage for thunderstorm redevelopment in the afternoon ahead of an approaching cold front. The cold front is forecast to move through the Chicago area between 6 and 8PM Sunday evening with showers and storms moving east through northern Indiana at that time.

Severe weather potential for northern Illinois grows

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 01:32:57 -0600

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for much of west central and southwest Wisconsin, a small portion of northeast Iowa and the extreme northwest corner (Carroll, Jo Daviess, and Stephenson Counties) of Illinois until 5AM CDT. At 1:30AM a line of thunderstorms from Central Wisconsin into northeast and north central Iowa was moving east at 35 to 40 mph. Heavy rainfall downpours of an inch or so in a half hour with localized flooding and winds 50 to 65 mph uprooting and breaking branches of some trees has been reported with some of the stronger thunderstorms.

Current indications, subject to change of course, are that the band of thunderstorms will continue moving east and sagging slightly south, meaning they could be tracking into northeast Illinois between 6AM and 9AM Sunday morning and while still packing a punch could be in weakening stages.The outflow winds from these storms could set the stage for thunderstorm redevelopment in the afternoon ahead of an approaching cold front. The cold front is forecast to move through the Chicago area between 6 and 8PM Sunday evening with showers and storms moving east through northern Indiana at that time.

Thunderstorms moving into northwest and north-central Illinois

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 01:23:21 -0600

Thunderstorms moving into northwest and north-central Illinois

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch will remain in effect until 3AM CDT for extreme northwest Illinois, northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin.

At 1:30AM showers and thunderstorms were moving southeast at 35 mph with the leading edge along the Illinois-Wisconsin border into northeast Iowa. Strongest storms were located in northeast Iowa, but all the storms appeared to be weakening somewhat. Heavy rains have been reported with the stronger storms and wind gusts in excess of 60 mph were recorded in northeast Iowa.

If they hold together, storms should reach Rockford shortly after 2AM and the far western and northern suburbs of Chicago after 3AM.

Tim's Weather World: Weekend Tornado Tally

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 06:27:32 -0600

The spring severe weather season may have started off quiet but it has heated up recently. According to the Storm Prediction Center, there have been 573 tornadoes reported this year so far with nearly 300 in just the past five weeks. 7 of those tornadoes touched down south of the city in Livingston, LaSalle and Kankakee counties on Saturday. The strongest winds occurred with a tornado in St. Anne and another between Streator and and Dwight. The winds were estimated at 140 mph in these EF-3 ranked tornadoes. The tornado that went through Streator had the longest path, estimated at nearly 18 miles. It was also the widest tornado, estimated at 1/4 to 1/2 mile wide.

The National Weather Service has summaries of all seven tornadoes on their web site.

The Chicago Tribune has all the details about the clean up that continues today.

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Expect more storms after a Monday lull

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 22:25:25 -0600

By Richard Koeneman, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

Monday is likely to be best weather day of the next seven across northern Illinois -- pleasantly cool temperatures, moderate humidity and light winds. It's a welcome interlude following a three-day period of turbulent weather across the north third of the state. But active weather is set to return to the area by mid-week. Periods of strong thunderstorms arrive Tuesday and Wednesday, precursors to 90-degree heat and tropical-level humidity by the weekend.

Phet hits Pakistan
Tropical Storm Phet brought torrential rains and severe flooding to Karachi on Sunday -- and a break in that city's sweltering tropical heat. Despite damage and several deaths, residents welcomed the cooling rains. Resident Saeed Ali commented, "We rarely get rain in summer. This is a golden moment."

Late-week heat to follow heavy rains

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 22:24:54 -0600

We've Moved!

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:43:12 -0600

The WGN Weather Blog has moved! We're now part of the Chicago Weather Center. You can find the new blog here: http://blog.chicagoweathercenter.com

Or you can visit the new Chicago Weather Center and find us under the tab of Weather News & Blog. Come on over to our new playground!

Tim's Weather World: Oil Spill Steers Towards Florida

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 06:49:16 -0600

The area of federal fishing waters in the Gulf of Mexico closed to fishing has now expanded to include more than 88,000 square miles. That is more than a third of the Gulf's federal waters.

Southwesterly winds are now steering the oil precariously close to Florida's pristine beaches. NASA has time lapse of photos showing the spread of oil from the day it began back on April 20th through late May.

If you (like me) are planning a vacation along the Gulf's beaches, check out NOAA's trajectory maps which forecast the movement of the spill. An unexpected change in the wind direction could move the oil back out to sea. That happened about a month ago when it appeared the oil was headed towards Pensacola's beaches. Florida has been spared so far and the extra time has given officials at all levels of government a chance to plan and prepare for the worst.

BP has given Panama Beach $1 million to pay for television ads and billboards that reassure potential visitors their beaches are still open. It's part of $25 million the company has offered Florida to help their marketing campaign to lure visitors just as the peak of tourism season nears.

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Area rainfall totals, hit & miss storms to return this PM

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:52:16 -0600

The large shield of rain that engulfed the Chicago area early this morning moved out at around 7AM, allowing waterlogged soils a chance to dry out.

Spotty showers and thunderstorms are expected to re-develop this afternoon, but an organized heavy rain event is not expected and the Flash Flood Watch for the metro region was canceled at 9:30AM. Further to the south, a Flash Flood Watch remains in effect through tonight for Kankakee, Jasper(IN) and Newton(IN) Counties.

3.70" Sheridan, IL (LaSalle County)

3.31" Plano, IL

2.78" Yorkville, IL

2.70" Westmont, IL

2.59" Burr Ridge, IL

2.58" Oak Park, IL

2.51" Sandwich, IL

1.40" Geneva, IL

1.23" Chicago-Midway

0.96" Chicago-O'Hare

0.88" Evanston, IL

0.69" Buffalo Grove, IL

0.55" Algonquin, IL

0.51" Crown Point, IN

Above: Water is slow to recede early this morning from a baseball field in Northbrook, IL

Thunderstorms arrive, flooding is the main concern

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 02:34:25 -0600

Noisy thunderstorms arrived in Chicago shortly after 2AM this morning. For the latest on the storms including any warnings or advisories, check out the WGN Severe Weather Blog.

http://weblogs.wgntv.com/chicago-weather/severe-weather/

More storm shots from the Pilsen area

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:21:58 -0600

Thanks to frequent blog contributor Dave Skrzyniarz for sending these shots of Tuesday evening's developing thunderstorms as viewed from the Pilsen area.

Photos by Dave Skrzyniarz

Storm clouds developing over the Loop

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:13:21 -0600

Thanks to Quentin Calder who sent us these great shots of the thunderstorms that developed over the south sections of the metro area Tuesday evening.

Photos by Quentin Calder

2 rounds of storms could pound area

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:33:06 -0600

The atmosphere Wednesday will be primed to generate thunderstorms that might, at times, become severe in the Chicago area. Two waves of thunderstorms are likely to hit: Wednesday morning and again later in the day. Morning rain totals, possibly exceeding 2 inches, may generate flash flooding. Additional heavy rain threatens by evening.

Spring wrap-up

The numbers are in and meteorological spring (March through May) has entered the record books as Chicago's 3rd warmest (Midway Airport data, 1928 to 2010), with an average temperature of 53.8 degrees versus a normal of 49.9. Total spring precipitation of 12.38 inches (versus a normal of 10.51 inches) ranks it the 19th wettest. (Spring 2009 was the city's wettest with 17.04 inches.) May 2010, with 6.80 inches, was the city's 4th wettest.

Thunderstorms and hail---no strangers to Chicago in June

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:31:17 -0600