The entire Chicago area woke up Thursday morning to heavy, thick fog, with a dense fog advisory in effect and low visibility leading to dangerous driving conditions and more than 100 flights canceled.
“It’s definitely going to impact the morning commute,” NBC 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Alicia Roman said. “Very dangerous fog out there.”
Early Thursday, traffic cameras from across the entire Chicago showed just how low visibility was, with blurry scenes under street lights.
According to the National Weather Service, the dense fog advisory will remain in effect until 12 p.m., but it’s likely to persist along the lake “all day.”
“The dense fog is most widespread near Lake Michigan, where it may not improve much, if any,” the NWS warned. Overnight,
The fog had already led to more than 100 canceled flights at Chicago’s International Midway Airport, NBC 5 traffic reporter Kye Martin said, which accounts for about half of Southwest Airlines’ flights there.
At O’Hare, 25 flights were canceled, Martin said.
The foggy conditions may have also led to a small, single-engine plane crash overnight in unincorporated Deerfield, where a pilot was killed after the plane crashed in a residential neighborhood. It was also leading to a messy morning commute, with crashes reported.
Clouds and mist were expected to linger throughout the day, Roman said, with some showers, drizzle and a storm possible in the afternoon. More rain would stay downstate, Roman said, but clip northwest Indiana as it lifts.
Temperatures Thursday will be in the 40s along the lake to the 50s inland, Roman said, before warming into the 60s and 70s Friday. The warm temperatures could tie Friday’s record of 70 degrees, set in 2000.
Friday will also see the chance for severe weather, with two waves of showers and storms expected.
Alicia Roman has the latest forecast.
The first round of showers and storms will begin in Chicago’s western counties at about 7 a.m., Roman said.
“I don’t think this batch will be severe,” Roman said, though heavy downpours were possible. “It’s later in the afternoon we have the potential for strong to severe storms.”
At that time, all of northeastern Illinois will be under a “slight” risk of severe weather, which ranks as level two of five. Heavy rain, winds as high as 60 miles per hour and hail were all possible Roman said, along with the low risk of a tornado.
The timing of the storms will be about 12 p.m., Roman said, with rain expected to wrap up later in the evening.
