It's back to reality, Chicago. The warmth and sunshine that started the week has passed and the area is now in a cold snap, punctuated by rain and possibly even snow.
After two days of beautiful weather, Wednesday started overcast, windy and colder after temperatures dropped overnight.
Rain was expected to develop late morning, after the rush hour, and continue into the afternoon, with a bit of snow still possible in the far northwest areas.
The rain should taper off before ending by late afternoon and evening. Highs Wednesday will be between 35 and 40 degrees, but ticking a bit higher into the low to mid 40s south of I-80.
Thursday looks to be warmer, with highs varying from the low 50s in far northern counties to even near 70 degrees in far southern parts of the region.
The day will start mostly cloudy and windy with scattered showers on occasion throughout the day, but moderate to heavier rain and storms - potentially strong to severe - likely in the evening.
Friday could see a few spotty showers possible early in the morning, while the day looks to be mostly cloudy, windy and much cooler with highs in the low 50s.
We'll see a brief respite from the clouds over the weekend, with partly sunny skies on a breezy, seasonable Saturday with highs in the mid 50s.
Local
But overcast skies are likely to return for a windy and cold Sunday with periods of rain and highs in the upper 30s to low 40s, before the work week gets off to a partly sunny and seasonable start on Monday.
