Severe storms are racing into the Chicago area, prompting a tornado watch and the possibility of a messy, hazardous commute home from work. The Tornado Watch is in effect for Ford, Grundy, Kankakee, Livingston and Will counties in Illinois and Jasper,

In and around Jacksonville, the threat of severe weather is somewhat lighter. There is no tornado watch at the moment, but a wind advisory is in play for this evening and overnight into Thursday. The chance of severe weather in the area is also at 80%, but it will fall to 30% Wendesday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Storms have entered our region and will continue tracking east throughout the evening hours. A portion of the area was earlier upgraded to a High Level 5 out of 5 risk of severe weather, meaning confidence has increased even more in which we will see widespread and potentially significant severe weather.