Chicagoland’s drought deepens, but this weekend might bring some relief

CHICAGO - The new Drought Monitor came out Thursday morning and most of Chicagoland is in a moderate drought. Kendall County, southern Kane, DuPage, northern Cook, and southeastern Lake (IL) counties now have severe drought conditions.

Much needed rain and embedded thunderstorms will arrive late tonight into early Friday. Most areas will pick up around a half inch of rain, but totals could top one inch between I-80 and I-90. Showers will taper off from west to east Friday morning, leading to clearing skies in the afternoon. Temperatures on Friday will top out in the low to mid 60s.

Our weekend looks great with sunny skies and highs in the upper 50s and low 60s. Warmer air will build in early next week with temperatures returning to the upper 60s on Monday.

(Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Near record warmth is possible on Tuesday with highs in the upper 70s under partly cloudy skies. More clouds will roll in on Wednesday, and showers will be possible late Wednesday into Thursday. These showers will be associated with a cold front.

Halloween will likely start with showers in the morning. As of now, it looks like temperatures will be in the 50s and 60s during the day.