Periods of showers and thunderstorms could bring some heavy rain, hail and high winds to the Chicago area ahead of a big cool down for the weekend.
Scattered showers and storms are expected to move into the area throughout the day with the potential for wind gusts of up to 60 mph in isolated storms, some heavy rain, occasional lightning and possibly hail the size of pennies.
The threat for rain and storms continues through the night Friday and into Saturday morning as a cold front approaches. Some localized heavy rain will still be possible.
Once the front passes Saturday morning, temperatures will plunge some 20 to 25 degrees in just a matter of hours. Conditions will dip into the low- to mid-50s in most areas.
Some recovery will be possible by late afternoon in a few spots as temps could reach 60 degrees in inland areas. The unseasonably cool conditions will continue through Sunday with winds off the lake keeping temperatures in the low- to mid-50s.
After a cool start to the week, temperatures will steadily recover with temps returning to the 80s Wednesday and Thursday.
