Severe thunderstorm watch issued for Chicago area, with large hail, tornadoes possible

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A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for most of the Chicago area, with large hail, gusty winds and isolated tornadoes all possible.

The severe thunderstorm watch will remain in effect through 8 p.m. Central time Thursday, and covers a wide swath of northeastern Illinois and all of northern Indiana, according to the National Weather Service.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for southeastern Lake County, southern Porter County and northern Jasper County until 6 p.m., according to NWS officials.

A storm located over Hebron was moving to the east at 35 miles per hour, packing wind gusts of 60 miles per hour and quarter-size hail.

Cook, LaSalle, Kendall, Grundy, Will and Kankakee counties in Illinois are all impacted by the existing watch. Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana are also included in the watch, according to NWS officials.

The watch was canceled for DeKalb, Kane and DuPage counties, according to officials.

An earlier severe thunderstorm warning issued for northeastern Kankakee County in Illinois and southwestern Lake County and northern Newton County in northwest Indiana was allowed to expire at 4:45 p.m.

WATCH: Live radar of storms’ arrival in Chicago area

The watch calls for scattered wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour, along with scattered hail that could reach up to two and a half inches in diameter, roughly the size of a tennis ball.

Isolated tornadoes are also possible with any supercells that develop, according to officials.

The timing of the storms calls for the initial burst to occur north of Interstate 80 between 3 and 7 p.m., though storms could race south of that line before that time. The evening hours will see storms become more widespread south of Interstate 80, impacting parts of central Illinois and wide swaths of Indiana.

In addition to the aforementioned threats, heavy rains could lead to a risk of flash flooding, especially in areas south of Interstate 80.