Severe thunderstorm warning extended for much of suburbs

A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for many parts of the suburbs, including Northwestern Cook County as well as DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.

It was initially set to expire at 12:30 p.m., but was extended until 2 p.m.

Severe thunderstorms are expected to roll through the suburbs this afternoon and into the evening, bringing winds strong enough to uproot trees, damaging hail, frequent lightning and the potential for flash floods.

The storm is expected to come out of the northwest and sweep down from the Rockford and McHenry County areas sometime between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. before hitting the rest of the suburban region between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., according to forecasts from meteorologists at the National Weather Service office in Romeoville.

Wind gusts could exceed 75 mph, forecasts suggest.

The storms should be out of the suburbs by 6 p.m.

Temperatures will be in the upper 80s for much of today, but the storms are expected to cool things off for the next few days with temperatures that will top out in the upper 70s and lower 80s through Thursday, meteorologists report.