Mark Strehl Blog: Spring Severe Weather

Today marks one of the first days of 2015 with the threat of severe weather here in Chicago.

The National Weather Service has changed the way they issue their severe t-storms forecast. They have added a couple of extra categories to further "refine" quantifying the threat of severe weather. This Thursday afternoon, we are in the "enhanced" threat of severe weather, which basically means that we can expect widespread outbreaks of severe thunderstorms.

The ingredients are in place - warm humid air surging north from the Gulf of Mexico. Colder and drier air dropping in from Canada. And the catalyst that mixes it all together: The Jet Stream, which adds the energy for severe weather. Main threat for today includes high winds, hail and even a slight risk of tornadoes.

But the best news is that everything clears out late tonight, and we should have a sunny and dry Friday and a great weekend!