Stormy Weather On the Way Tonight, Saturday

A narrow, but strong line of thunderstorms is headed through Effingham County late tonight and early Saturday morning.

A briefing involving James Auten of the National Weather Service office in Lincoln Friday afternoon indicated the storms will arrive in Illinois starting at 8pm and will exit the region by 2am Saturday.

The system will include rainfall, strong winds, possible hail, straight line winds and possible tornadoes.

Winds are the highest concern and the highest likely storm component, with the winds gusting up to 80MPH. The hail could contain stones two inches in diameter or more.

The timing of the storm is also of concern, as any tornadic activity will be after dark so hard to spot. 

According to the map above, the bulk of the storm won't get to the Effingham area until between 10pm and midnight tonight, with the strongest storm activity at around 1am.

Be sure to utilize the weather page on our website for updates.

File this away for future reference, but the strong winds will continue on Saturday, maybe to 60MPH and the chance of more rain in the late afternoon and evening hours.