50+ mph winds, 'strong spring storm' hitting Chicago, snow coming Monday

Severe storms and winds over 50 mph are blowing into the Chicago area.

The National Weather Service warned that a "strong spring storm" is moving into the region Sunday and will stick around into Monday. The weather service issued a wind advisory for strong, southern winds as high as 50 to 65 mph from Sunday afternoon through the evening.

Showers and thunderstorms, potentially severe, are also expected Sunday afternoon before the rain turns to sleet overnight, according to the weather service.

Flights at O’Hare International Airport were experiencing delays. The average arriving flight was delayed over 90 minutes and departing flights were behind by 25 minutes. Delays at Midway International Airport were under 15 minutes. By late Sunday morning, over 580 flights had been canceled over the last 24 hours at O'Hare, with 105 flights canceled at Midway during that same period.

Rain doused South Side Irish parade-goers before festivities kicking off Sunday afternoon, but didn't deter those donning shades of green in the pursuit of bagpipe music and free candy.

The clouds eventually cleared way for sunshine, which lasted for most of the parade, before rain returned with gusts of wind around 12:40 p.m. Some walked out as others covered themselves with ponchos, though the parade finished out unchanged.

Sunday's rain is expected to turn into snow early Monday, along with wind gusts of up to 45 mph. One to two inches of snow is possible, the weather service said.

Skies will likely clear by Tuesday, but temperatures will remain in the 20s. The weather service expects temperatures will warm into the 40s and 50s toward the end of the week.

Contributing: Kaitlin Washburn, Violet Miller