National Weather Service officials issued a tornado watch for several Illinois counties after severe thunderstorms tore through the area Wednesday.
Several counties in Iowa also are under a tornado watch.
In Illinois, the following counties are effected until 3 p.m.:
Adams Brown, Bureau, Carroll, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson. Henry. Jo Daviess, Knox, Marshall McDonough, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, Stephenson, Warren and Whiteside.
On Wednesday, several calls of tornado activity poured in but until weather officials investigate damage, no tornados have been confirmed as of Thursday morning.
As of Thursday morning, more than 160,000 ComEd customers were without power.
Showers and thunderstorms are likely before 2 p.m. with some of the storms becoming severe with winds up to 30 mph. Up to a tenth to a quarter inch of rain is expected with higher amounts possible during the thunderstorms, officials said.
Thursday high temperatures in the 80s are expected, dropping to the high 50s in the night hours.
Two rounds of severe storms are expected Thursday. The first round will be between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. when there is a threat for destructive winds and hail, officials warned. Flash flooding is a possibility. The second round of storms is expected between 4 and 11 p.m. with a threat of strong tornados and destructive winds, officials said.
Current conditions at O’Hare International Airport are mostly cloudy at 81 degrees. At Midway Airport farther south conditions are similar at 80 degrees.