Sixteen tornadoes were reported Tuesday and Wednesday morning across Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia, along with dozens of damaging wind reports, including gusts topping 100 mph in Kentucky. The Illinois tornado was reported by a trained weather spotter Tuesday near Manteno in Kankakee County, according to the National Weather Service.
National Weather Service
It’s official, Chicago: February 2024 was the warmest in 153 years of recording keeping.
It was a wild day that saw Chicago just miss out on setting a record-high temperature for February before a powerful cold front moved through the region.
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for the Chicago region, much of northern Illinois and parts of northeast Indiana, through 10 p.m. Tuesday.
The forecast for last week of February has a little something for everyone. Buckle in for a wild ride.
Sundogs form when waves of sunlight pass through ice crystals suspended in clouds. They resemble rainbows or halos, or can even resemble a second sun.
CPS announced classes will be in session for all students Wednesday as the frigid temperatures the city has seen this week have begun to dissipate.
The Chicago region remains under a wind chill warning Tuesday morning as bitterly cold temperatures persist.
“We have been carefully monitoring the forecast over the past 24 hours, and have determined that given frigid temperatures predicted for tomorrow, and a Wind Chill Warning from the National Weather Service that wind chills that could reach -30 degrees, it will be unsafe for staff and students to travel to school,” the school district said in a statement.
The first of two rounds of snow made for a snowy morning commute Friday, with a second round set to hit overnight into Saturday.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for Chicago and the surrounding region, in effect from 3 a.m. Friday through noon on Saturday.
The National Weather Service is still refining its forecast in terms of snow totals, but is certain that a storm system and arctic blast will hit Chicago this weekend.
The second of two rounds of storms is still expected to dump significant amounts of snow in the northwest portions of the greater metro area Tuesday afternoon and early evening, according to the weather service.
Parts of the Chicago region could get socked with upwards of 8 inches of snow while areas closest to the lake could see just an inch or two, forecasters said.
In fact, Dec. 25 isn’t going to feel particularly wintry at all.
Dec. 7 is the average date for the city to record its first 1-inch snowfall, according to the National Weather Service.
