The Chicago area woke up to a wet Wednesday morning, with more rain to come throughout the day and evening. A few isolated thunderstorms will be possible.
A Lakeshore Flood Warning was issued for Cook County as well as Lake and LaPorte counties in Indiana, according to the National Weather Service. The warning in Cook County takes effect at 7 p.m. Wednesday and lasts through 7 p.m. Thursday, while the warning in northwest Indiana begins at 10 p.m. and also lasts 24 hours, the NWS said.
The warnings say that gusty northerly winds up to 40 mph will produce waves of 8 to 12 feet, occasionally reaching as high as 16 feet in Cook County, 17 feet in northwest Indiana.
DeKalb, Lake, McHenry and Kane counties in Illinois, as well as Kenosha County in Wisconsin were under a Flood Watch through Wednesday night, according to the NWS. Forecasts warned of persistent, moderate rain across the area, with around 2 inches of rainfall expected on top of the rain already seen Tuesday - making portions of the region susceptible to flooding.
"Roadways, viaducts, ditches, and other poor drainage areas may be impacted," the NWS warned, adding that rivers and small stream rises could also occur.
Wednesday will see rain through the day, light to moderate with embedded thunderstorms possible through the evening, NBC Storm Team 5 forecasts. The day will be overcast, windy and much cooler with highs in the low to mid 50s before temperatures drop to the low to mid 40s.
Local
Showers continue overnight into Thursday, which looks to be another overcast, windy and cooler day as well. Rain will likely taper off in the afternoon, with two-day totals adding another 1 to 2 inches of rainfall. Highs range from the mid 40s along the lake to upper 50s well inland.
At the end of an active weather week, the first day of May on Friday will likely be a welcome relief, looking mostly sunny and pleasant with light winds and seasonable temperatures - highs in the mid 60s, cooler along the lakefront.
Saturday's forecast is partly sunny, breezy and warmer with highs in the low to mid 70s, though the chance for rain returns as clouds increase late with showers possible overnight.
Those showers could continue into Sunday morning, though the weekend will otherwise end partly sunny and a little cooler but still seasonable with highs in the low to mid 60s, cooler along the lakefront.
