Chicago Weather Alert: Severe storms by evening
CHICAGO (CBS) -- After a couple of lovely days of nice weather, we're in Alert Mode for the threat of strong to severe thunderstorms this evening.
We also have an Air Quality Alert for the area due to high ozone levels. On an annual basis, some of the worst pollutions some cities see are on July 4th and 5th due to, you guessed it, fireworks.
The smoke from our celebration is like wildfire, contributing large amounts of PM 2.5. That's the same type of particulate matter in wildfire smoke.
Add that to our ozone air pollution, and you get lower air quality.
The trigger for today's storms is a cold front moving through. On the other side of today's storms, we'll experience much cooler weather. Temps will be at, or below, typical early July levels.
Current timing:
4 pm: Mostly sunny and hot with temps in the 90s. An isolated storm is possible, but most spots are still dry.
5 pm: Still just hot and mainly dry.
6 pm: Storm chances building to our west. A few warnings are possible in the far west; a severe watch may be posted for the area.
7-9 pm: Storms likely, moving from west to east. Wind and hail threat.
10 pm: Severe threat shifts east, mainly in parts of NW Indiana. Lingering showers in the city.
Normal- 84
4th of July- 92
Today- 91
Sunrise- 5:22 am
Sunset- 8:30 pm
Forecast
Today- Storms late this afternoon may be intense or severe. Sunny, hot, and humid with a high of 91.
Tonight- Showers and thunderstorms. Low of 67.
Thursday- Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Cooler, with a high of 77.