National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Tracking Late December Winter Storm Expected to Impact the Northern Plains through the Northeast U.S.

A winter storm system will rapidly intensify over the Midwest on Sunday and track through the Great Lakes on Monday. Periods of heavy snow are anticipated across the Upper Great Lakes late Sunday and continuing into Monday. At least 1/10 inch of ice accumulation is expected from a wintry mix across much of the interior Northeast U.S. starting Sunday afternoon. Read More >

Overview

Temperatures in the mid 80s and gulf moisture led to a very unstable atmosphere on Wednesday. An upper level wave and forcing ahead of a slow moving cold front initiated storms across the Midwest, including numerous severe storms across Northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana. The strongest storms produced 2-3" diameter  hail near Rockford, and a 67 MPH wind gust at Midway Airport, with significant wind damage near Midway. In addition, significant wind damage occurred in parts of northern Kankakee County and central Lake County Indiana.  After a brief break in storms, a line of storms brought large hail up to 2-2.5" diameter to northern Lake and McHenry Counties, and heavy rain to areas mainly north of I-80.

nws logo Media use of NWS Web News Stories is encouraged!
Please acknowledge the NWS as the source of any news information accessed from this site.
nws logo