National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Frigid Airmass to Bring Significantly Colder Temperatures; Heavy Lake-effect Snow; Fire Concerns Across the Central Gulf Coast

A frigid cold airmass will bring significantly colder weather across the eastern two thirds of the country early this week. Temperatures will tie or break many records across the Southeast through tonight. Moderate to heavy lake effect snow will continue downwind of the Great Lakes. Gusty winds and dry conditions will support an elevated fire weather threat across the Central Gulf Coast. 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