Chicago Weather: Tornado hits far west of Chicago area, leaving minimal damage

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Saturday, March 28, 2020
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CHICAGO (WLS) -- A tornado hit far west of the Chicago area Saturday night, but expected severe weather left minimal damage in the region.

The ABC7 AccuWeather Team declared Saturday an Accuweather Alert Day in anticipation of severe storms this weekend.

A Tornado Watch was issued for DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall and Livingston counties Saturday after 8:30 p.m. It was cancelled around 11:20 p.m.

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ABC7 Reporter WIll Jones checks out road conditions as severe weather hits the Chicago area Saturday night.

At around 9:20 p.m., a tornado was reported in Stillman Valley of Ogle County, which is roughly 15 miles southwest of Rockford.

Stillman Valley's director of public works said there's "minimal damage" in the area. Emergency crews are checking in on residents.

A few showers and storms took shape in some counties north of the Chicago area early Saturday night, but there was limited to no severe threat in these cases, according to ABC 7 meteorologist Cheryl Scott.

Scott said cloud cover and dropping temperatures near Chicago's lakefront helped lessen the severe weather threat across the area.

The Chicago-area hasn't seen a rare "high" risk storm threat since 2013.

The greatest risks of any storms Saturday were heavy rain, strong winds, large hail and even tornadoes, according to the ABC7 team.

Sunday is expected to be windy with gusts reaching near 50 mph.

Which is worse: Watch or Warning?

Meteorologist Larry Mowry explains the difference between a severe weather watch and a warning.