Rock Island, Ill. – A tornado watch is now in effect for 11 counties across northwestern Illinois until 8 p.m. Friday, with rapidly changing skies and strengthening storms expected to escalate through the afternoon.
According to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center, Tornado Watch 505 includes Carroll, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Jo Daviess, McDonough, Mercer, Rock Island, Stephenson, Warren, and Whiteside counties. The watch was issued at 12:55 p.m. CDT and covers a broad swath of the Mississippi River Valley region.
Storms developing along a warm front are expected to intensify through early evening, bringing the potential for rotating supercells, damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph, and hail up to 2 inches in diameter. Residents near Galesburg, Freeport, Moline, and Macomb are urged to monitor local alerts and have shelter plans in place…