Weather alert: Tornado watch issued throughout Illinois, including Springfield

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for parts of Illinois—including Springfield.

The watch was issued around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. and canceled for much of central Illinois, including Sangamon County just before 2:30 p.m.

According to the National Weather Service, places under the tornado watch can see hail up to the size of tennis balls, wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour and tornadoes.

The tornado watch also covers parts of northern Illinois, including Rockford, Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.

Much of Indiana is also under the same tornado watch, including Indianapolis, Lafayette and South Bend.

In total, the National Weather Service said nearly 18 million people could be impacted by the weather.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Weather alert: Tornado watch issued throughout Illinois, including Springfield