Thanks to Lynnie Deroche from Darien and James Kloc from Pingree Grove for capturing and sharing these photos of last night's beautiful sunset.
Photo by Lynnie Deroche
Photo by James Kloc
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
WEATHER SNAP SHOTS: June 2007 Archives
Dan and Marcia Smith, formerly from West Chicago, Illinois and currently residing in Rogers, Minnesota (just northwest of the Twin Cities) sent us this spectacular shot of a thunderstorm that passed through their area about an hour earlier this evening.
Photo Credit: Dan Smith, Rogers, Minn.
Monday evening's setting sun, a hazy, humid environment and distant towering cumulus clouds combined to produce this amazing scene photographed and relayed to us by Larry Jahn of downstate Macomb, Ill. The rays visible here are referred to as crepuscular rays.
That there are gaps in these rays indicates light from Monday evening's setting sun was being blocked by distant cloud towers -- the kind which might well include tall cumulonimbus clouds (thunderheads). Our sincere thanks to Larry Jahn for sharing these spectacular shots with us!
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist
Anson Mount shares this view of damage from Thursday night/Friday morning's storm complex taken at a hangar entrance at Waukegan Airport. The Airport measured well over 2" from the storms and wind gusts topped 45 m.p.h. Thanks for sharing this with us, Anson!
--Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist
Photo courtesy: Anson Mount
Wall clouds, like the one picture here near Rockford late Thursday, are low hanging cloud formations often near the southwest quadrant of powerful thunderstorms beneath which tornadoes often spring to life. These photos, taken just before sunset and relayed to us by Scott Lasker and Brad Bartley, accompanied a powerful northeastbound cluster of thunderstorm—one of several which flared in north-central Illinois Thursday and proceeded quickly into Wisconsin.
Far more numerous thunderstorms flared later Thursday evening knocking out power around 9 p.m. on the west side of Davenport Iowa, and shortly afterward prompting reports of funnel clouds near Rock Falls, Morrison and Tampico, Illinois in Whiteside County.
Explosions of power transformers were so numerous, a National Weather Service-trained spotter reported they appeared to "light up the sky" east of Dixon, Illinois. Trees and power lines were reported down in storm gusts which raked Sterling. Gusts reached 60 m.p.h. at Mt. Morris. The late night storm eruption prompted the issuance of a tornado watch which included a large swath of the Chicago area through 5 a.m. Friday morning.
Our thanks to Scott Lasker and Brad Bartley for sharing the amazing wall cloud photos with us!
-Tom Skilling
Photos courtesy: Scott Lasker and Brad Bartley
A weather report from WGN Weather Center graphic artist Nelson Taruc:
About noon today, I heard a strong cracking sound in front of my house in northeast Oak Park. At first, I thought it was the high winds damaging a gutter. However, when I went to the front of the house to investigate, I saw that a tree had been blown over onto two houses across the street.
After calling the village's Public Works to inform them of what had happened, I went out along with several neighbors to survey the damage, and took a few quick pictures shown below. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but one of the houses appears to have sustained roof-related damage as a result. The residents of the homes affected were understandably upset; other neighbors are now watching the remaining trees on our block with a wary eye.
Given the notable strength of today's winds, I suspect that this will be just one of numerous examples of wind damage reported across the Chicago area.
Thanks to Kim and Bill Toth who captured these dramatic pictures of this evening's squall line as it raced through far northwest suburban Hampshire in northern Kane County around 6:45 p.m. Nearby WeatherBug wind sensors at Union and Burlington, Illinois both reported wind gusts to 45 m.p.h.
--By Steve Kahn, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist
