National Weather Service officials are expecting showers and thunderstorms Wednesday mainly after 1 p.m. with wind gusts up to 20 mph.

A Tornado Watch is in effect, as is a Flood Watch, for large swaths of the Chicago area Wednesday. The possibility of stronger tornadoes is most likely from Ottawa to the Loop, especially on the South Side,

The storms are expected Wednesday in the late morning and afternoon, especially southeast of Interstate 55 in eastern Illinois and northwest Indiana, according to the National Weather Service.