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June 3rd 2010.
7 AM:
The congestion was heavy on the Dan Ryan expressway as rush hour was in full swing. Summer was here and the temperature was already starting to reflect that; a high of 94 and a dewpoint of 73? Yikes that was balmy.
If you were listening to the radio that morning, you might have caught a weather report mentioning thunderstorms by rush hour with a chance that they might be severe. A common response might be to brush off that information as they usually were wrong.
This time they weren't.
7:30 AM:
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC), located in Norman, Oklahoma, is tasked with forecasting the risk of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in the contiguous United States.
The forecaster on duty was busy writing the morning outlook for severe weather and mentioned to his colleague that he had never seen a system this strong late in the season, and if today would be a busy day.
Morning Severe Weather Outlook:
THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF SVR TSTMS ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN ILLINOIS...AND WESTERN AND NORTHERN INDIANA...
...A SIGNIFICANT OUTBREAK OF SEVERE WEATHER...INCLUDING STRONG TO VIOLENT TORNADOES...IS EXPECTED ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE MIDDLE MS AND OHIO VALLEYS THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...