A series of severe storms triggered tornado warnings and tornado watches in much of central and northern Illinois on March 19, moving out of the area by late evening. The storms caused a smattering of power outages in northwest Indiana and widespread damage across the Chicagoland area.

Damage has been reported in Champaign County and several thousand people are without power in central Illinois

A Tornado Watch continues for central Indiana until 8pm. Large hail up to 1″ diameter, damaging straight-line winds near 60 miles per hour and heavy downpours up to 1″ are likely.

The Storm Prediction Center has areas southeast of I-55 in an "Enhanced Risk," this is a level 3 of 5 on their severe risk scale. Locations near and along I-55 are in a "Slight Risk" (level 2 of 5), and then north and northwest portions of Chicagoland are in a "Marginal Risk" (level 1/5).

Meteorologist John Burchfield breaks down when the thunderstorms will roll through the area, how it will impact your plans, and what you need to do to prepare.

Severe thunderstorms prompted tornado warnings across the Chicago area on Wednesday, with snow showers expected overnight.

While parts of central Illinois remain under a tornado watch, another weather phenomenon called a "gustnado" could also threaten the region.

Tens of millions of people living in the Midwest and central U.S. could be impacted by tornadoes on Wednesday while critical wildfire conditions continue to impact the Southwest, after recent wildfires and a tornado outbreak killed at least 42 people over the weekend.

In a legal filing Friday, Madigan's defense team repeated claims they made during the trial that the court made errors in admitting and excluding evidence. Prosecutors are asking for $3.1 million from Madigan for payments made to ComEd contractors and subcontractors.

Strong to severe thunderstorms, bringing widespread damaging winds and multiple tornado threats, are expected Monday from the Northeast to the central Gulf Coast region., US News News - Times Now