The Chicago area could see thunderstorms Thursday night and into Friday morning, prompting concerns of damaging winds and flash flooding.
Severe thunderstorm warnings have already been issued in parts of LaSalle, Kendall, Kane and DeKalb counties due to the storms, with some power outages already reported.
Wind gusts in excess of 60 miles per hour are possible, along with heavy rain that could lead to flash flooding as a cold front remains nearly stationary over the area.
A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for a wide swath of the Chicago area, including LaSalle, Grundy, Will and Kankakee counties until 9 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton and Jasper counties are also listed under the watch until 9 p.m.
A ground stop was also issued at Chicago’s Midway and O’Hare airports on Thursday, though it has since been lifted at O’Hare.
In addition, nearly 50,000 ComEd customers were without power due to the storms, according to the utility’s website.
NBC 5’s Interactive Radar is capturing the scene as the storm system approaches the area.
After the storms die out Friday morning, cooler temperatures are expected, though more severe weather could occur as soon as Saturday.
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