Bracing weather: High winds to sock Chicago area
Mon. October 25, 2010 8:43 PM by Chicago Breaking News
Chicago, IL -
A high wind warning has been issued for the Chicago area Tuesday when a strong cold front could touch off one of the strongest storms to hit the Great Lakes region in decades, with winds clocking at more than 55 mph.
A squall of thunderstorms is expected to rake the area around daybreak, followed by strong winds throughout the day and into Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
"The City of Chicago is undertaking the necessary actions in advance of the storm and has activated its Extreme Weather Plan which entails, among other activities, making notifications to Building Office Managers, area hotels, universities, schools and yacht clubs," said José A. Santiago, executive director of the City of Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
The city will activate its extreme weather plan, notify building owners and managers, and city contractors to properly secure building equipment, cranes and scaffolding. Area public schools, hotels, universities and yacht clubs will also be notified. The city is also working with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority to take proper precautions at Navy Pier, Santiago said.
Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Tom Byne said the department is expecting a high number of downed trees because of the winds.
Airlines that fly out of Chicago hadn't started cancelling flights this evening, but were anticipating keeping a close watch on the weather conditions Tuesday. Richard Edgeworth, chief of safety and security for the Chicago Department of Aviation, said cancellations are not expected for Midway Airport but officials are monitoring conditions.
No Southwest Airlines flights had been cancelled by a little after 7 p.m., but airline officials will be watching the weather early tomorrow to see what to do, said Ashley Dillon, a spokeswoman for Southwest.
"We're going to watch the storms and make The Call at that time," Dillon said.
Winds, out of the south/southwest, could be as strong as 35 to 40 mph during the day Tuesday, with gusts of 55 mph or more, meteorologist Andrew Krein said. There could be a lull overnight before winds pick up again Wednesday morning, he said.
"These will be straight-line winds," Krein said, adding that the chance of tornadoes is slight.
The warning is in effect from 7 a.m. Tuesday until 7 a.m. Wednesday in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, DeKalb, Lee, Ogle, Boone and Winnebago counties. A high wind watch is in effect for Will and Kendall counties, as well as Lake and Porter counties in Indiana.
The high on Wednesday is expected to be in the mid-50s and only in the upper 40s on Thursday before warming up in time for Halloween with highs in the mid-60s.
The storm could be one of the strongest to hit the Great Lakes region in the last 70 years, the weather service said.
The worst is the Great Blizzard of 1978, which pounded Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin from Jan. 25 to Jan. 27, 1978. The 28.28 inches (958 millibars) of barometric pressure recorded in Cleveland during that storm remains the lowest nontropical atmospheric pressure recorded in the mainland United States, according to the weather service.
Up to 40 inches of snow fell, driven by winds gusting up to 100 mph.
Next on the list is the Armistice Day Storm that hit on Nov. 11, 1940 and packed winds of up to 80 mph, according to the weather service. Temperatures plummeted by 50 degrees, and a raging blizzard dumped up to 27 inches of snow over Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The barometric pressure was recorded at 28.55 inches (967 millibars).
No snow is in Tuesday's forecast, but the barometric pressure could drop to 28.35 inches (959 millibars). The lower the pressure of a storm system, the more violently moisture is sucked in.
Number five on the list is the storm that sunk the Edmund Fitzgerald ore freighter on Nov. 10, 1975.
For radar and updates, check the Chicago Weather Center.
A squall of thunderstorms is expected to rake the area around daybreak, followed by strong winds throughout the day and into Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
"The City of Chicago is undertaking the necessary actions in advance of the storm and has activated its Extreme Weather Plan which entails, among other activities, making notifications to Building Office Managers, area hotels, universities, schools and yacht clubs," said José A. Santiago, executive director of the City of Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
The city will activate its extreme weather plan, notify building owners and managers, and city contractors to properly secure building equipment, cranes and scaffolding. Area public schools, hotels, universities and yacht clubs will also be notified. The city is also working with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority to take proper precautions at Navy Pier, Santiago said.
Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Tom Byne said the department is expecting a high number of downed trees because of the winds.
Airlines that fly out of Chicago hadn't started cancelling flights this evening, but were anticipating keeping a close watch on the weather conditions Tuesday. Richard Edgeworth, chief of safety and security for the Chicago Department of Aviation, said cancellations are not expected for Midway Airport but officials are monitoring conditions.
No Southwest Airlines flights had been cancelled by a little after 7 p.m., but airline officials will be watching the weather early tomorrow to see what to do, said Ashley Dillon, a spokeswoman for Southwest.
"We're going to watch the storms and make The Call at that time," Dillon said.
Winds, out of the south/southwest, could be as strong as 35 to 40 mph during the day Tuesday, with gusts of 55 mph or more, meteorologist Andrew Krein said. There could be a lull overnight before winds pick up again Wednesday morning, he said.
"These will be straight-line winds," Krein said, adding that the chance of tornadoes is slight.
The warning is in effect from 7 a.m. Tuesday until 7 a.m. Wednesday in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, DeKalb, Lee, Ogle, Boone and Winnebago counties. A high wind watch is in effect for Will and Kendall counties, as well as Lake and Porter counties in Indiana.
The high on Wednesday is expected to be in the mid-50s and only in the upper 40s on Thursday before warming up in time for Halloween with highs in the mid-60s.
The storm could be one of the strongest to hit the Great Lakes region in the last 70 years, the weather service said.
The worst is the Great Blizzard of 1978, which pounded Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin from Jan. 25 to Jan. 27, 1978. The 28.28 inches (958 millibars) of barometric pressure recorded in Cleveland during that storm remains the lowest nontropical atmospheric pressure recorded in the mainland United States, according to the weather service.
Up to 40 inches of snow fell, driven by winds gusting up to 100 mph.
Next on the list is the Armistice Day Storm that hit on Nov. 11, 1940 and packed winds of up to 80 mph, according to the weather service. Temperatures plummeted by 50 degrees, and a raging blizzard dumped up to 27 inches of snow over Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The barometric pressure was recorded at 28.55 inches (967 millibars).
No snow is in Tuesday's forecast, but the barometric pressure could drop to 28.35 inches (959 millibars). The lower the pressure of a storm system, the more violently moisture is sucked in.
Number five on the list is the storm that sunk the Edmund Fitzgerald ore freighter on Nov. 10, 1975.
For radar and updates, check the Chicago Weather Center.
Article provided in partnership with ChicagoBreakingNews.com.