A strong line of storms swept through the Chicago area Wednesday afternoon, knocking down trees and cutting power for thousands. An emergency tornado siren was blown to the ground in the west suburbs.

Flood warnings are in effect across parts of Kansas and Missouri following heavy overnight rain that pushed waterways to dangerous levels. Officials are closely monitoring Tomahawk Creek and Brush Creek,

Today is partly sunny and hot! Highs will be in the upper 80s and low 90s with the heat index pushing to around 100!

Air quality in the Chicago area remains poor for the third straight day in a row, with an air quality alert in effect through Wednesday night, along with extremely muggy conditions and the chance for severe storms,

Chicago weather forecast Wednesday includes chance of severe storms; isolated tornado possible Wednesday will be very hot and humid, with highs in the low 90s. Between about 3 and 8 p.m., strong to severe storms are possible, ABC7 Chicago meteorologist Larry Mowry said.

The Chicago area has felt less of an impact from the Trump administration’s National Weather Service cuts than offices in the Quad Cities and downstate Lincoln.

The Chicago area could be in for multiple rounds of severe weather in coming days, with heavy rain, gusty winds and even tornadoes possible.

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

A tornado watch was still in effect until 11 p.m. Friday for Cook County and northern Illinois, but the severe weather mainly stayed northwest of the Chicago area thanks to a line of cool, dense air that broke the storms up.