The Chicago area has seen its fair share of severe weather this week, but one more round of powerful storms could be on the horizon.
Residents may be relieved to hear the next round of severe storms won’t arrive on Thursday, but rather on Friday ahead of a dramatic dip in temperatures, according to the NBC 5 Storm Team.
Thursday will be partly-to-mostly cloudy in the area after getting off to a rainy start, with highs in the 70s across the region according to forecast models.
Friday will start out on the warm side, with highs rising into the 80s, and humidity will also be elevated with dewpoints in the 60s.
As the day moves along, showers and thunderstorms are expected to begin developing in areas west of Illinois, but the threat will quickly move into the state as the afternoon begins.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, eastern Iowa, western and central Wisconsin and western Illinois will all be at an “enhanced” risk of severe weather on Friday, with officials warning of a “strong tornado potential” and the chance for very large hail in the affected areas.
The entire Chicago area will be at a “slight” risk of severe weather, and while the tornado threat may be lower, the threat of damaging wind gusts will be substantially higher, as storms are expected to form into lines and with “bow echoes” occurring, with winds driving the storms forward into the region according to forecast models.
Those wind gusts could exceed 70 miles per hour, enough to cause damage to roofs and siding, according to officials.
The threat of tornadoes also cannot be dismissed, especially in far-western portions of the area in DeKalb, McHenry and LaSalle counties.
There is also a chance of large hail in areas west of Interstate 57 according to the Storm Prediction Center, with residents urged to be cautious in the late afternoon and early evening hours.
Storms are expected to move out of the area by the late evening hours, and behind the approaching front, temperatures will plunge dramatically. Highs Saturday and Sunday are only expected to reach into the low-to-mid 50s according to forecast models, and clearing clouds on Sunday evening and into Monday morning could even pave the way for temperatures to be cold enough to allow the formation of frost, according to the NBC 5 Storm Team.
Temperatures will start to rebound on Monday afternoon as highs rise into the 60s, and by mid-week highs could be back into the 70s.
Stay tuned to the NBC 5 Storm Team for all the latest weather news, and be sure to download the NBC Chicago app for real-time weather alerts sent to your phone.
