Thunderstorm chances return for the weekend, but many dry hours ahead

 

Temperatures Thursday afternoon warmed into the low 70s thanks to an abundance of sunshine and breezy south wind. High pressure will hold strong through the evening before shifting to the east during the night. Temperatures Thursday night will drop into the upper 40s, rising once again into the mid-70s Friday afternoon.

The majority of Friday will be dry, but we will see a little more cloud cover during the afternoon. That is the result of low pressure passing through central and southern Illinois. That low is currently moving through the southern Plains. Drier air throughout most of the afternoon will keep mainly dry skies, but a shower or two can't be ruled out over northwest Illinois and southwest Wisconsin after 6pm/7pm. A few isolated showers will then be possible area wide Friday night.

The 70-degree warmth will continue Saturday as a ridge of high pressure builds in during the afternoon. We may see a little more cloud cover, but it looks to be another dry day. The chance for showers and thunderstorms will begin to increase slightly Saturday evening, lasting into Sunday morning. Severe weather is not expected, but a strong storm or storm could contain quarter sized hail. 

A warm front lifting north into Wisconsin Sunday will bring temperatures into the upper 70s, possibly evening low to mid 80s! But the warm-up could come with the risk for an isolated strong/severe storm during the afternoon. The forcing aloft remains fairly weak, and our atmosphere looks to stay capped during the afternoon. If, however, any outflow boundaries become strong enough to break the cap we could see an isolated storm or two during the afternoon. If that happens there is a low-end chance for the storms to turn severe. While the threat remains low for Sunday, it is a day we need to keep an eye on. 

The storm chance increases slightly Sunday night into Monday with temperatures holding in the 70s, middle and upper 70s, through the middle of next week.