Chicago weather: Warm and windy today, storms and snow ahead

CHICAGO - A big warm-up is on the way today. In fact, temperatures as of this writing are already close to the normal high for this date, which is 48 degrees. 

Chicago weather forecast

What we know:

We will have a mixture of clouds and sun but overall, I think sunshine wins out. It will be rather windy with those winds helping propel temperatures up into the low 70s. In fact, there could be the mid-70s over southern portions of Chicagoland. The exception to the warmth will be over northeast Lake County where an onshore wind will hold temperatures in the low 50s. Tonight looks quiet and breezy but tomorrow everything gets busy. 

Future forecast

Showers and a few thunderstorms could threaten the area as early as midday in fact. Another round of thunderstorms will come through either late in the afternoon or early in the evening. There is a level two or slight risk for severe thunderstorms with damaging winds being the primary hazard. The set-up for tornadoes is not that remarkable. Highs tomorrow should be close to 70, which is stunning when you consider that by late at night, it will be snowing again. With overnight lows around freezing some of that snow will likely stick but will be ending by sunrise Thursday. The rest of Thursday will feature clearing skies and highs in the low to mid 40s. 

Friday looks like a day with temperatures in the low to mid 50s and a chance for some light rain at night. Over the weekend, temperatures will be close to normal with a few showers around on Sunday.