Rain chances return to conclude the work week, low severe risk

Mother nature gave us and our air conditioners a well-deserved break from the heat Thursday. Clouds slowly increased throughout the day, leaving highs for most locales in the upper 70s.

Highs remain in the upper 70s, close to the 80-degree mark this afternoon. However, it comes with less sun and a better shot at some rainfall as our next storm system glides across the Midwest. 

Whether your daily routine takes you out the door this morning or this afternoon, make sure to have the umbrella on hand. Forecast models show scattered showers remaining a possibility for a good chunk of the day, with chances lingering into the early stages of Saturday. A few thunderstorms will be possible, especially this evening into early Saturday as a cold front approaches from the west. 

 

One or two of these could become strong to severe, posing the risk for damaging winds, small hail, and flash flooding. It's for this reason that the Storm Prediction Center has placed all of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin under a level 1 marginal risk for Friday night/Saturday morning.

 

Conditions rapidly dry out following Saturday's cold front, resulting in a partly cloudy afternoon sky. There will still be enough of a westerly wind present for highs to peak in the mid 80s. It won't be until Sunday where the full effects of this frontal passage will be felt as highs only peak in the mid 70s.