Chicago weather: Potentially severe storms forecast for Friday evening
Residents on the Des Plaines River are bracing for flooding as more rain moves into the area
CHICAGO (WLS) -- After a foggy start Friday, potentially severe storms are in the forecast for Friday evening.
ABC7 Accuweather Meteorologist Tracy Butler said no rain is expected in the morning, but foggy conditions are creating awful visibility. A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect for much of the area until 10 a.m.
The weather will warm up in the afternoon while staying dry before storms in the evening.
Butler said a line of potentially severe storms could start moving into the far western suburbs between 5-7 p.m., bringing heavy rain and strong winds. It will then move into the city between 8-9 p.m.
The Storm Prediction Center has most of the Chicago area at a Level 3 Risk for severe weather except for Northwest Indiana, which is under a Level 2 Risk.
Residents brace for flooding
A lot of people in both the city and the suburbs are already dealing with flooding this week while they brace for more rain.
The Des Plaines River remains a concern as water levels look really high near Lake Avenue
People who live near the Fox River are also keeping an eye to the skies. They've already had some flooding too.
And Chicago wasn't spared either. The city said they've gotten hundreds of calls about waterlogged streets and flooded basements.
Forecasters said Illinois is seeing a very active severe weather season.
"With all the events that we've been happening, people kind of see all this and they're hopefully not scared by it, but hopefully they'll educate themselves," Victor Gensini, NIU meteorology professor, said. "Hopefully, they will tune in to ABC7. Hopefully, they'll tune into the National Weather Service and get those official watches and warnings and understand when in the forecast this week, do I need to be paying attention? Because there's a likelihood for severe weather and then know what to do if the watches and warnings are actually issued. If you're under a tornado warning, where are you going to go? IF you're in a vehicle, are you going to go? We always tell people to put as many walls between you and the tornado as possible."
The Des Plaines River is expected to crest near 17-feet sometime today or over the weekend, but officials hope that after the storms move through, warm weather should allow water levels to recede.
