A tornado watch has been issued until 11 p.m. Friday for Cook County and most of northern Illinois. Strong storms are expected to hit the Chicago area between 8 p.m. and midnight, the National Weather Service said.

Severe thunderstorm warnings popped off in the greater Chicago area through the evening Thursday, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from the Windy City Smokeout.

Chicago faced a stormy weekend with severe weather threats, including hail and gusty winds, according to forecasts.

The National Weather Service received no reports of tornado touchdowns Friday night after cancelling a tornado watch early for several Northern Illinois counties. After issuing a tornado watch

Southwestern McHenry County was hit particularly hard in the early round of storms, with 50-cent piece-sized hail and 60 mph wind gusts. This storm also had rotation associated with it, and there was concern about a tornado warning, but no tornado warnings were issued.

Chicago experiences severe flooding after 5 inches of rain in 90 minutes, leaving drivers stranded and creating dangerous conditions across downtown.

In parts of Chicago, flash flood alerts rang Tuesday, warning of dangerous conditions as cars were stranded and submerged on highways and water rescues were conducted, but how much rain actually fell across the region and how fast did it all happen?

Torrential rains caused flooding and stranding of cars in Chicago, with Illinois receiving over five inches of rain in three hours.