Stormy Weather

Holy smokes! The headlines from this morning? "Great Lakes Cyclone" expected to hit Chicago area and Storm front spawns brief tornado warning in Kane.

WGN Radio says we expect 30' to 35' waves on Lake Michigan today, and winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour. They also inform us that umbrellas are useless.

There has already been one ground stop order at O'Hare airport (oops! there goes another one!), and, if you're travelling here over the next couple of days, you should count on more.

If driving, motorists are urged to keep both hands on the wheel and slow down, the Naperville release said. Drivers are cautioned to keep a safe distance from cars in adjacent lanes, and to take extra care in vehicles with high profiles, such as trucks and SUVs.

Oh. And monsoon type rain just blew in.

I can't wait to go to work today.


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Update: Yes, I made it in to work. Tornadoes have touched down in a bunch of places here in the Midwest. In addition, the skydeck at the Willis (SEARS) Tower pulled in the ledges and shut down for at least the day AND this poor woman was impaled with the business end of a falling branch.

Gadzooks.

Road Conditions

Oh, joy!

Dear Tenants,

The National Weather Service has issued the following weather warning & information for our area:

Severe Thunderstorms Expected, High Winds and Hail Possible

Strong thunderstorms are expected to arrive in the city between 4:00 and 7:00pm. The storms have the possibility of damaging winds and large hail. Depending on how the storms develop, winds could reach 70 mph. To view live weather radar, follow this link to: National Weather Service Radar.

Please disseminate this information to your employees and take the necessary precautions.

That ought to make the commute home interesting. (And it's the second time in a week, thank you very much.)

Around here every idiot who should never have received a drivers license, much less a set of car keys, inevitably picks weather like this to drive in.

Be careful on your way home, will you?
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Update:

Tornado Watch Issued - Severe Thunderstorms Expected, High Winds and Hail Possible

From the National Weather Service:

A tornado watch has been issued for Cook County until 9:00 PM.

A severe thunderstorm is expected to hit the North Central area of Illinois near Rockford between 2:00 and 5:00pm. Chicago will have approximately 30 minutes advance notice before the storm strikes here somewhere between 4:00 and 7:00pm.

The storm will be fast moving and may only last 30-45 minutes. It will be accompanied by 70 mph winds, hail (the size of a quarter) and heavy rains. The rainfall is expected to be 1-2 inches per hour. The heat index is expected to reach 100 degrees this evening (as well as on Sat and Sun). This storm will be very similar to the one that came through last Friday.

Yippee!

I wasn't kidding -- be careful on your way home!

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Update: Another first -- tornado sirens just went off. I've been working in and around the Loop since 1989, an it's the first time I've ever heard that.