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Chicago Weather: Temperatures Climb Toward 90 Before Friday Storm Risk
Fox Chicago's JD Rudd has the latest forecast.
CHICAGO - It got a little bit warmer across the area today as highs touched the 80s in many spots. This will be the first of many days spent in the 80s. For tonight, things remain very quiet and comfortable: clear sky, light wind and lows on either side of 60.
Thursday brings a little more heat to the party as highs climb into the upper 80s. A couple of spots could tag 90 degrees by the end of the day. The breeze is going to pick up from the southwest, holding around 15–20 mph through the day. Also, by Thursday evening, dew points are going to shoot up. It will become noticeably more sticky late Thursday night.
All of this sets us up for Friday, where it will be a warm and muggy day. As a weak cold front tries to drop in, we could end up with a few different rounds of rain and thunderstorms. There is a risk of severe weather later in the afternoon to evening Friday, with the main concerns being damaging wind gusts and hail. While the risk of tornadoes is low, a brief spin-up cannot be ruled out. The window for strong storms would be between 4pm and 10pm. All of that said, the overall severe risk will be isolated. Still, some spots may end up with a good soaking of rain and a fair amount of thunder and lightning.
Going into Saturday, there may be enough leftover lift in the atmosphere to generate a couple pockets of rain and thunder. The problem with Saturday's activity is that it would be very spotty in nature, so some spots won't get a drop of rain. While other locales may end up getting a soaking once or twice before the day is done. Highs should be in the 80s again with muggy air hanging around.
Sunday is a dry day with morning lows in the upper 60s and daytime highs in the middle 80s.
Turning to next week, the warmth stays with us: lows in the 60s and highs in the 80s. Odds are going up for some rain and thunder Monday night into Tuesday, but it's not a "sure thing" just yet. We will adjust the forecast as we get closer to then and keep you updated.