More heat and humidity was expected for the first full day of summer in the Chicago area, with rain and storms in the weekend forecast, the NBC 5 Storm Team said.
“It’s the first full day of summer, which now means that the days are getting shorter,” NBC 5 Meteorologist Kevin Jeanes said.
“One second shorter,” Jeanes added, of Friday.
Friday in the Chicago area started out partly cloudy, with dense fog and haze in some areas near the lake. In Northwest Indiana, where an air quality alert remained in place, Jeanes noted visibility Friday morning was less than a tenth of a mile.
By afternoon, skies were expected to turn sunnier, and temperatures were expected to rise, Jeanes said.
High temperatures Friday were expected to be in the low-to-mid 90s, Jeanes said, though areas close to the lake would remain cooler. Further inland, feels-like temperatures could approach 100 degrees, Jeanes added.
Friday evening, there was a low-end chance of an isolated shower or thunderstorm along the Illinois-Wisconsin state line, Jeanes said, near Boone and McHenry counties.
Saturday evening, thunderstorm chances across the area increase, Jeanes added.
Saturday will also be hot and humid, Jeanes said, with temperatures in the 90s. Unlike Friday, areas near the lakefront Saturday won’t see much relief.
“Not much cooler near the lake,” Jeanes said, of the heat and humidity Saturday.
Saturday evening, strong to severe storms could move into the area, Jeanes said.
Beginning around 5 p.m. Saturday, the entire Chicago area will be under a “marginal” risk of severe weather, which ranks as level one of five on the Storm Prediction Center’s severe weather scale. Near Rockford and in Northwest Illinois, severe weather chances were even stronger, Jeanes said.
The greatest threats with Saturday’s potential storms comes in the form of damaging wind gusts and the possibility of hail and flooding, Jeanes said. Showers and storms were expected to continue through midnight.
Sunday was expected to be cooler and less humid, Jeanes said, with highs in the mid 80s.
After Saturday, the next best chance for rain comes Tuesday, Jeanes said, as a cold front moves through.