A strong cold front in the lower midwest is increasing the possibility of severe storms in central Illinois tonight.

Chris Miller with the National Weather Service in Lincoln is indicating central Illinois could be in for potentially dangerous storms that could include high winds and the possibility of hail and even tornadoes.

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Miller explains as the daylight diminishes earlier in the day, he says a lot of these storms could be developing in the darkness and encourages everyone to stay alert and heed the warnings of weather officials if things do turn bad.

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As the system moves off after tomorrow, Miller anticipates a couple windy days. He says wind gusts in central Illinois could reach 40 to 50 MPH and winds will be very persistent during that time.

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Miller indicates says this storm has been compared on social media to the storms that saw a tornado outbreak that effected Washington and Gifford. He says this system is completely different from that one.