Red Flag Warning Issued for Northern Illinois and Chicago Metro Area Through Wednesday Evening
This alert is no longer in effect.
NOAA issued it on April 6, 2026, 4 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for much of Northern Illinois, including the Chicago metro, due to high winds and low humidity creating extreme fire risks.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Red Flag Warning
- Affected area
- Northern Illinois
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Chicago
Fire-weather notices describe conditions that can support rapid fire spread; they do not report that a fire is present. Check local emergency sources for any active incident.
Record status: historical. It was issued 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Northern Illinois.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Chicago has issued a Red Flag Warning, effective immediately, as critical fire weather conditions develop across the region. The alert indicates that a combination of strong winds and low relative humidity will create an environment where fires can ignite and spread rapidly. The warning was expanded this morning to include the full Chicago metropolitan area.
Affected Areas
The warning covers a broad portion of Northern Illinois, including the following counties:
- Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Ogle, Lee, De Kalb, Kane, La Salle, Kendall, Grundy, and Livingston.
The alert has been expanded to include the Chicago metro counties of Cook, DuPage, Will, Kankakee, and Lake (IL).
What You Should Do
Residents in the affected areas are strongly advised to avoid all outdoor burning. Any fire that develops under these conditions will catch and spread quickly. A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or are imminent. Residents should prepare for extreme fire behavior and monitor local updates.
Expected Conditions
Despite light rainfall of 0.05 to 0.15 inches recorded last night, warm and dry conditions are expected to dry out fine fuels by early afternoon.
- Winds: Southwest winds between 20 to 30 mph, with gusts reaching up to 50 mph.
- Relative Humidity: Levels are expected to drop as low as 15 to 20 percent.
- Fire Behavior: The combination of high wind speeds, low humidity, and warm temperatures will contribute to rapid fire spread.
Timeline
The Red Flag Warning is in effect until 8:00 PM CST this evening, Wednesday, February 18. Conditions are expected to be most critical during the afternoon hours.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
Related Weather Alerts
All Weather Alerts →Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this NWS weather alert.