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Thunderstorms and Heavy Rain Across the Southern and Eastern US; Heat and Fire Weather Concerns in the West

Showers and thunderstorms are expected across the southern and eastern US this week, with heavy rain and localized flooding, particularly near the Gulf Coast. Monsoonal moisture will bring rain and potential flooding to parts of the Southwest. Heat and fire weather threats will continue to impact the West. Read More >

3/19/2025 Severe Weather Event. Thank you to our storm spotters, broadcast media, and followers for your reports! Strong to severe thunderstorms rolled across the region during the afternoon and early evening of March 19th producing swaths of straight-line wind damage. NWS ground surveys confirmed that several brief tornadoes occurred as a line of storms accelerated across Will, southern Cook, and Lake (IN) counties. Three separate tornadoes touched down in Gary, IN. Wet, wind-whipped snow fell overnight into Saturday morning, mainly north of I-80, with accumulations of 1 to 4 inches. Confirmed Tornadoes (8):  1. Joliet/Preston Heights EF-0 2. Frankfort EF-0 3. Steger EF-1 4. Lynwood EF-0 5. Highland EF-0 6. Gary #1 EF-0 7. Gary #2 EF-1 8. Gary #3 EF-0 To view an interactive map with these survey findings, visit apps.dat.noaa.gov/StormDamage/Damageviewer/

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Additional event recaps can be found on the NWS Chicago Past Events Page
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