Severe Storms Possible

Update 7:50 p.m.
Tornadic storms continue in eastern Iowa, but they are moving north-northeast and will stay away from us. A couple clusters of thunderstorms is in west-central Illinois moving northeast. The storms are strong and one has a severe thunderstorm warning.

The storms are beginning to lose their punch since they're moving into an area that has spent less time in the warm sector. Gusty winds, small hail, and heavy rain are still possible as the storms pass through later this evening. The severe threat, however, appears to be waning.


We're keeping an eye on an area of thunderstorms to our south and west. They are in an environment that has destabilized enough for storms to develop, and there's enough shear to get the storms to spin. They're along and south of the warm front and racing quickly to the northeast in the neighborhood of 50-60 mph.

The warm front is generally aligned with I-80. We've been watching it push to the north and it could be near the Rockford area later this evening. If we can tap into the warm, moist air south of the front, storms could be severe.

In fact, the thunderstorms near Quincy, Illinois are almost out of the tornado watch box. Eric and I would not be surprised if some type of watch box is issued for part of our viewing area shortly.