Overview
- The National Weather Service activated the warning from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for McHenry, DeKalb, Kane, LaSalle, Kendall and Grundy counties.
- Wind gusts could top 45 mph with very low humidity and temperatures in the 60s creating critical fire conditions.
- Lake, DuPage, Cook, Will and Kankakee in Illinois and Kenosha in Wisconsin were placed under a special statement for elevated fire danger.
- Officials urged residents to avoid outdoor burning and to fully extinguish any fires, noting that new ignitions could spread rapidly.
- Thursday carries a slight severe risk to the far south and east, with a marginal risk for Cook, Kankakee, Will and LaSalle, and the strongest storms most likely south of Kankakee during the mid-afternoon window.