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Severe storms, high winds to hit Chicago — What to expect

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Published  March 13, 2025 6:53pm CDT
Weather
FOX 32 Chicago

Tornado threat, 60 mph winds: Chicago braces for intense weather

Mark Strehl has your weather update!

The Brief

    • Severe Storms & High Winds – A strong weather system will bring damaging winds, possible tornadoes, and large hail to the Chicago area Friday night.
    • Wind Advisory in Effect – Winds could gust up to 50 mph Friday evening, with a High Wind Watch continuing into Saturday, potentially causing power outages.
    • Timing of the Storm – The highest storm risk is between 8 p.m. Friday and early Saturday morning, with lingering strong winds throughout the weekend.

CHICAGO - We have a very active weather pattern coming into the Chicago area on Friday into Saturday.

Full Forecast :

Friday will start off beautifully with sunshine and temperatures quickly warming into the 70s. Most areas will find high temperatures in the upper 70s to near 80 degrees.

South winds are expected to ramp up during the day. A Wind Advisory has been issued for Chicagoland from 4 p.m. Friday to 4 a.m. Saturday for southerly wind gusts as high as 50 mph. 

In addition to the high winds, there is a significant severe storm threat Friday evening into Friday night. 

Damaging winds and tornadoes will be our primary concern, but large hail will also be possible as a line of storms races from southwest to northeast across the area. 

The timeframe to stay weather-aware will be from 8 p.m. Friday to roughly 1 or 2 a.m.

Looking to the Weekend:

While the severe storm threat will end late Friday night, high winds will remain a concern into Saturday. 

A High Wind Watch has been issued for Chicagoland from Saturday morning through Saturday afternoon for south winds gusting as high as 50 to 60 mph. 

Winds this high may result in scattered power outages. 

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