Parts of the Chicago area are under a wind advisory as northern Illinois stares down a "weather potpourri" over the next several hours that will see everything from thunderstorms to snow to heavy rain to high winds.
According to the NBC 5 Storm Team, winds are expected to pick up Wednesday night as showers move in from the south and move north.
Rain is expected to grow heavy at times by Thursday morning with a few storms early and windy conditions.
A high wind watch was issued for Kankakee County in Illinois and Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties in northwest Indiana, but that was later changed to a wind advisory, which is now in effect from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CST Thursday. Southwest to west wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph are expected, with gusts of up to 60 mph possible.
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"Secure loose items in the yard," the National Weather Service warned.
While the entire Chicago area is expected to experience strong wind gusts as part of the event, areas south of I-80 can anticipate to see the strongest of the system.
At its peak, the winds could cause damage to buildings and scattered power outages.
Local
While highs will sit in the 30s and 40s, rain could change to wet snow as temperatures fall later in the day.
The NWS noted that some locations could see brief heavy snowfall in far northern Illinois, with some accumulation and travel impacts possible.
"There is current uncertainty how long this will last & if it will have road impacts," the NWS tweeted.
