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'Excessive heat' warning issued for Chicago area
Dozens displaced after overnight fire at Crystal Lake apartment
Severe thunderstorms in store for Chicago Thursday afternoon
Getty Images/Scott Olson
Posted May 16 2019 01:13PM CDT
Updated May 16 2019 01:32PM CDT
CHICAGO (SUN TIMES MEDIA WIRE) - Severe thunderstorms expected to hit the Chicago area Thursday afternoon could bring high winds and hail the size of golf balls.
Storms that formed over southern Wisconsin started moving into northern Illinois in the mid-morning, according to the National Weather Service.
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued about 11:30 a.m. for an area stretching from DeKalb to Aurora and Oswego, in effect until 12:15 p.m., the weather service said. A tornado warning is also in effect until 12:30 p.m. for the area around rural Lake Holiday.
While scattered storms or showers might affect the Chicago area during the day, more severe storms are expected to re-form in the late afternoon over north central Illinois, northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana, the weather service said. The later storms could bring winds up to 60 mph and hail up to the size of golf balls.
Strong to severe thunderstorms continue to move across northeast Illinois and are headed into northwest Indiana. Most of the reports have been large hail, but gusty winds and heavy downpours are possible as well. pic.twitter.com/Wgi2z9uFd6
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) May 16, 2019
The most severe weather is expected between 6 p.m. and 1 a.m. Friday, the weather service said. There will also be a risk of localized flash-flooding in some areas.
Periodic showers and possible thunderstorms could continue Friday and throughout the weekend, but the weather should clear up in time for a partly sunny Monday, the weather service said.
After a warm and stormy Thursday in the city with a forecast high near 80 degrees, Friday will be cooler with a high in the 50s, the weather service said. Saturday's high will rise back to 80 with a high of 75 expected Sunday and 62 on Monday.
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R. Kelly doesn't have freedom, money for this legal battle
The difference between R. Kelly's life in 2002 when he was last charged with child sex-related crimes and his arrest last week on even more serious charges was on full display when the R&B singer turned and slowly walked out of court.
Each step Tuesday was cut shorter than normal by the shackles around his ankles - a reminder of how small his world has become and how the advantages he once possessed have vanished. He was not posting bond and leaving by the front door to return to his life as an international recording artist as he did 17 years ago. He was heading back to a federal jail cell knowing there's a good chance he will stay there for months or even years before his case comes to trial, after a judge said the charges against him are too serious to release him on bond.
In the space of an hour, a federal prosecutor and Kelly's own lawyer outlined many of the ways the 52-year-old singer's life has changed. When he eventually went to trial in on child pornography charges in 2008, his lawyers convinced a jury that Kelly was not guilty and prosecutors couldn't prove that it was Kelly or a certain 14-year-old girl in a grainy sex video.
Dangerously hot weather is expected to move into the Chicago area Thursday and linger into the weekend.
Temperatures in the city could climb to 95 degrees by Thursday afternoon, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Birk. The humidity could make it feel like 100 to 107, with the worst heat expected between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
An "excessive heat" watch already in effect from Thursday afternoon to Saturday evening was upgraded to a warning by Wednesday afternoon, according to the weather service. Friday is forecast to be the hottest day in that stretch, with a high that could hit 99.
Advocacy group sues over Illinois gun dealer oversight law
The Illinois State Rifle Association has filed a lawsuit alleging a new law that expands state oversight of firearm dealers places "onerous restrictions" that could drive many out of business, officials with the advocacy group announced Wednesday.
Under the law, which Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed after taking office in January, gun retailers must be licensed by a federal agency and then certified by the state, keep an electronic inventory and install surveillance equipment, among other things. Dealers have to pay fees ranging from $300 to $1,500.
However, the ISRA alleges in the complaint filed late Tuesday in Sangamon County Circuit Court that the law puts "undue burdens" on dealers, and state officials have yet to spell out in detail how it must be carried out. The complaint seeks to stop the law from being implemented.
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