Illinois Could Really Be Impacted by a Hurricane This Weekend?

Illinois is known for a lot of things. Hurricanes is fortunately not one of them. However, the Land of Lincoln could very well be impacted by a hurricane as soon as this weekend, but a lot of things need to happen first.

Let's begin with what we know and an acknowledgement of what we don't know - yet. NOAA's National Hurricane Center just issued this possible track for a tropical depression that they believe will develop into a hurricane in just a few days.

If this forecast is accurate, the tropical depression will become a hurricane by early Wednesday morning just as it enters the Gulf of Mexico. It would be Hurricane Helene. This system is troubling as it is expected to have plenty of time to strengthen before making landfall somewhere along the Florida gulf coast.

Here's what we don't know yet

The National Hurricane Center does not know how much this storm will strengthen or its exact path. If it goes further east or west than expected, that will affect the path northward. The strength of the system also matters as a stronger storm may veer further eastward and/or northward.

IF (all caps because it's an important word) the storm develops into a hurricane and follows the expected path as of this writing, Illinois will be impacted by remnants of Hurricane Helene likely Saturday sometime.

Make sure to follow the development of what may become Hurricane Helene on the National Hurricane Center's website.