1:30pm Update: Rain has moved on, mostly dry for the remainder of your Tuesday
Updated: 1:30 p.m. Aug. 11, 2026
We are in the clear! Well sort of. The rain has moved out and we dodged a major bullet with severe storms rocking the Chicago area this morning. Rainfall amounts stayed around a tenth of an inch or less across our area.
Updated: 10:41 a.m. Aug. 11, 2026
The rain and storms are here. A large area of steady light rain and embedded storms has been moving across most of southeast Wisconsin for a few hours. The biggest cluster of concerning storms is moving through Walworth County where over 200 lightning strikes have been reported in the last 15 minutes. Winds within these storms could gust to 50 mph with heavy rain that could briefly lead to flash flooding.
The more concerning storms have continued to move southeast through northern Illinois with numerous tornado warnings currently in effect for the city of Chicago and the surrounding area.
The cluster of storms in Walworth County will really be our only chance at severe weather today as it moves east towards Racine/Kenosha Counties and eventually over Lake Michigan.
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Updated: 7:33 a.m. Aug. 11, 2026
A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for our southern half of counties until 2 PM Tuesday afternoon. Jefferson, Waukesha, Milwaukee, Walworth, Racine and Kenosha Counties are included in the watch.
A cluster of storms has rapidly strengthened in northeast Iowa and is moving east. Some of these storms are currently pushing 80 mph. The storms are currently moving in an east or a southeast direction. The worst of the storms might stay mostly in northern Illinois but some of the northern edges could impact our local counties after 9:30 AM.
Here is a state view of the radar that will update with time:
The rest of the severe outlook outlined below including rain totals and severe threats remains on track.
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Posted: 5:19 a.m. Aug. 11, 2026
We had a few strong to severe thunderstorms early Tuesday morning especially near the IL border in Walworth and Kenosha Counties. Loud start to the morning in those areas with tons of lightning, some heavy rain, gusty wind and hail. As of 5 AM most of southeast Wisconsin is fairly dry but a few light showers have been moving through.
Another round of strong to severe storms looks very possible from the mid-morning hours Tuesday into the early afternoon. There is some uncertainty as to where the strongest cluster ends up and some weather models have the storms a bit more isolated.
Regardless of who sees the storms, they are likely going to be strong. A Level 3 Enhanced Risk for severe weather is in place to our south in Illinois. Locally, our southern communities, south of I-94, are under a Level 2 Slight Risk with a Level 1 Risk north of there.
Strong wind and flooding will be the main threats with any strong storms that we see in the morning through the early afternoon. Some hail will also be possible but the tornado threat is low.
The exact area of heavy rain will heavily depend on where the strongest storms end up. Right now, that looks like it could be in our southern counties where a quick inch to 1.50" of rain may be possible leading to brief flash flooding. North and south of that area of heavy rain will see lesser rain totals.
Download the CBS 58 Weather app to track the heavy rain and storms and get alerts if a severe thunderstorm watch or warning are issued.
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