Storms possible early Friday, fall-like cooldown to follow

Improvements were felt Wednesday as the air wasn't as hot and definitely wasn't as humid. This downward trend in both departments is expected to continue, making for a refreshing holiday weekend. 

Thursday starts off with areas of patchy fog, which may slow your morning travels down a bit. Shortly after fog issues dissipate, clouds will give way to more sunshine. This will allow afternoon highs to peak in the upper 80s. With dew point temperatures sitting near the 70° mark, expect heat indices to peak in the low 90s. Still hot, though not  as dangerous as what was felt Monday and Tuesday.

Overnight, our attention then turns to a line of showers and storms that spark up along a cold front in Minnesota and Iowa. Forecast models bring this activity southeastward, entering N. Illinois and S. Wisconsin around 1-2AM. While these will be weakening on approach, they still could pack a punch by producing gusty winds and heavy rainfall. Coverage is then expected to decrease as we approach the mid-morning hours, leaving the rest of our Friday dry under a mostly cloudy sky. Afternoon highs will end up slightly cooler in the low 80s.

Skies will clear out behind the frontal passage, setting up a gorgeous holiday weekend. Plenty of sunshine is expected as high pressure slides in behind the departing cold front. Some clouds may be possible early in the day Sunday as a secondary cold front slides through. However, the bigger headline with Sunday's frontal passage is the cool-down that follows, leaving us very fall-like for Labor Day and for the first few days of September.