More storms forecast as part of ‘remarkably active severe weather period’ for state, suburbs
Property owners in some suburbs are bracing for potential flooding as more rounds of thunderstorms are forecast for the region.
Heavy rain, high winds and hail belted parts of the suburbs Tuesday evening, uprooting trees in Elgin and elsewhere.
It’s the latest bout of severe weather the Chicago area and Illinois have seen in an already busy weather year that has produced more tornadoes than any other state so far and record-shattering hail stones.
“We’ve had a remarkably active severe weather period going back to the beginning of the year,” said Trent Ford, Illinois state climatologist. “Over the last three to four years, the first half of each year has been very, very active.”
More rain Wednesday kept Northern Illinois under a flood watch while a flood warning was issued for parts of far Northwestern Cook, Northeastern Kane, Southwestern Lake and Southeastern McHenry counties, according to the weather service. A portion of Central Lake County is also under a flash flood warning.
Des Plaines leaders warned residents to expect flooding along the Des Plaines River Wednesday and continuing into the rest of the week. Sandbags are available for pickup at the Public Works facility, located at 1111 Joseph Schwab Road.
Nearly 2½ inches of rain fell Tuesday at O’Hare International Airport, the region’s official weather station.
National Weather Service meteorologists said the 2.43 inches of precipitation was a record amount of rainfall at O’Hare for an April 14, shattering the previous mark of 1.21 inches set in 1949.
It was the rainiest day recorded at O’Hare since April 18, 2013, when 3.54 inches of rain fell. And Tuesday was the sixth rainiest April day on record, according to weather service data.
More storms are expected to roll into the region Friday as well ahead of a cold front that drops high temperatures into the low 60s and upper 50s for the weekend.
Forecasts call for above average precipitation through May, Ford said, because of “abundant moisture in the atmosphere and cold air in the Arctic.”
Those conditions combined with warmer air masses from the south have spawned 54 tornadoes in Illinois so far this year. That’s nearly 16% of the nation’s 341 tornadoes. Mississippi is second with 47 recorded tornadoes, according to weather service data.
“That’s well above normal for the season,” said Todd Kluber, a weather service meteorologist based in the Romeoville bureau. “And while hail is typically more common this time of year, it’s not necessarily as frequent and large as we’ve seen.”
The 30-year average for Illinois is 62 tornadoes annually, Kluber noted.
The first tornado recorded in Illinois this year was Feb. 19. On March 10, Illinois recorded its first tornado-related fatality since 2023 when a massive supercell created an EF3 tornado that tore through Kankakee County, killing one resident there and two more in Indiana.
That storm also generated record-breaking hail stones, including one with preliminary measurements of 6.6 inches in diameter.
“That would crush the previous record of 4.75 inches if it holds up,” Kluber said.
The state has recorded more than 100 tornadoes in each of the past three years, including a record 174 in 2024. However, experts said severe weather could taper down significantly in the coming months despite the strong start.
“An active severe weather period of time does not portend that it will continue,” Ford said. “It’s hard to say whether that’s part of any long-term trend.”