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Gusty Winds in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast; Atmospheric River to Impact the Northwest

Gusty winds are expected from portions of the Mid-Atlantic into the Northeast through the night following the system that brought rain to the area. An atmospheric river will move into the Northwest late today into Saturday bringing moderate to heavy rainfall, mountain snow, windy conditions, and high surf to the area over the weekend. Read More >

Overview

During the day Wednesday, May 22, a warm front lifted across northern Illinois and Indiana ushering in much warmer and more humid air than was in place during the previous two days. By the evening, an approaching cold front and upper level disturbances were able to tap into this warm and humid airmass to support the development of thunderstorms. Strong winds aloft helped some of these storms become organized into supercells and bowing lines, which both are excellent at producing wind damage and even tornadoes. During the late evening, the Storm Prediction Center issued a Tornado Watch for portions of northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, at the far northeastern end of a broad area of severe storms stretching across the Midwest. Fortunately for the local area the tornado threat did not become widespread, but both Tornado Warnings and Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued during the overnight hours. Multiple reports of wind damage were received.  

Radar image for May 22-23, 2019
Preliminary Storm Reports
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