Stories by Patty Wetli

Severe thunderstorms are expected throughout northeast Illinois late Tuesday afternoon into the evening, bringing with them the threat for damaging hail and winds, flash flooding and possible tornadoes south of the I-80 corridor.

Announced in 2015, the Obama Presidential Center will open to the public June 19 at its 20-acre campus in Chicago’s historic Jackson Park.

The full story is now being told of how a tiny clump of moss helped investigators crack the macabre case of grave robbing at Burr Oak Cemetery.

Winter in Chicago recorded far less snow than normal, and temperatures for the season were close to normal despite January’s deep freeze.

Early risers will enjoy views of a total lunar eclipse in the pre-dawn hours on Tuesday.

Lurie Garden will be closed to the public beginning Monday through early July while major repairs are made to the garden’s water feature and boardwalk.

It’s always summer in the Chicago Botanic Garden’s arid greenhouse, where the view is unlike anywhere else in the world.

Lincoln Park Zoo is celebrating a baby boom of nine eastern massasauga rattlesnakes, the first new arrivals of this federally threatened native species in nearly a decade.

Brookfield Zoo has announced the arrival of a new pangopup — a baby white-bellied pangolin — just in time for World Pangolin Day on Saturday.

Vehicles across the city were coated in dirt Wednesday thanks to a perfect storm of events.

The EPA repealed the key underpinning of greenhouse gas emission regulations. Now environmental and health advocates are taking the agency to court.

Birders inadvertently provided researchers at Loyola University with a key bit of documentation related to invasive species and microplastics.

Holding a snowy owl in his hands was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for bird rescuer Ken Reinert. It’s an experience he hopes he never has to repeat.

The National Weather Service is predicting highs in the 50s for the Chicago region through early next.

If landscapes could talk, the 61-acre Greene Nature Preserve in Lake Forest would have quite the tale to tell.

Illinois state legislators are proposing the Power Act, which would put guardrails around the rapid expansion of large-scale data centers.

Chicago's streak of sub-freezing days came to a merciful end Friday morning.

The Chicago Park District has unveiled a bold and ambitious updated framework plan for Grant Park.

January 2026 was notable for two significant departures from temperature norms in Chicago — in opposite directions.

Punxsutawney Phil and Woodstock Willie have issued competing prognostications.

Forecasters are anticipating two rounds of lake effect snow to dump anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow on portions of northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana, between Friday morning and Saturday evening.

Illinois law hasn’t kept pace with the introduction of high-speed e-bikes, e-scooters and other “micromobility” devices. Officials are trying to catch up.

Expect a gradual warm-up — relatively speaking — by the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Exploding trees have taken the country by storm. Let’s separate fact from fiction.

With an extreme cold warning in effect and actual air temperatures below zero in Chicago on Friday morning, several of the city's major cultural institutions have announced closures to the public.

Forecasters are warning Chicagoans to prepare for “dangerously cold temperatures” in the coming days as a deep freeze settles over the region.