Chicago weather: Comfortable Friday leads into hot and humid weekend

CHICAGO - By July standards, this is a fantastic Friday in terms of weather (and certainly better than what we were dealing with a week ago). Warm today but not super hot nor humid at all. It should be a terrific evening for any outdoor activities, so get out and enjoy.

Chicago weather forecast

By the numbers:

Quickly, here are some interesting Friday figures for you:

• 18 | Days straight without rain in Chicago
• 130 | Days 55 or warmer this year (most on record)
• 78° | Highest dew point value this year (July 3)

We are still in store for a hotter—and more humid—weekend. Middle 80s on Saturday with a bit more mugginess in the air, especially just south of Chicago. Sunday is the day with the bigger heat as highs jump into the 90s. Toss in dew points in the 70s and that will lead to heat index values near 100 degrees for many.

What about storm chances? It's still looking like there will be some pockets of thunderstorms roaming the region at times over the weekend. Wisconsin appears to have the better chance, but some leftovers could try to drift our way late in the day. The Storm Prediction Center has greater Chicagoland in a Level 1 risk of severe weather Sunday. This means there is a small chance for a stronger storm or two somewhere in the area. Said differently, it appears most of us will wind up staying dry.

What's next:

Now moving into Monday, hot and humid air will continue to sit on top of us: back into the 90s and thick humidity. Once again, the SPC has outlooked the area as having at least some kind of chance for stronger storms. Currently, it appears the better chances may be just off to our east (in Indiana and Michigan).

Outside of that, the summer feel is sticking around for Tuesday through Thursday of next week. Expect sunshine and highs in the upper 80s to near 90. Humidity values will remain on the muggy side, making it feel a bit hotter. And for those keeping score, meteorological fall is just 39 days away.