Chicago weather: Rain, storms give way to lake effect snow showers

Cold temperatures and lake effect on the way A low pressure system is bringing rain and a few storms to the area today. The Storm Prediction Center has the far southern extent of Newton and Jasper Counties in a level 1 Marginal Risk, but it appears the best severe chance will stay south of Chicagoland. The Brief Rain and a few thunderstorms are expected across the Chicago area Wednesday, though the greatest severe weather threat should remain south of the region. Lake effect showers will develop Wednesday night into Thursday, with snow likely mixing with rain Thursday night and Friday, especially in northwest Indiana. Highs will remain in the 40s through the weekend before sunshine and temperatures in the 50s return early next week. CHICAGO - A low pressure system is bringing rain and a few storms to the area today. The Storm Prediction Center has the far southern extent of Newton and Jasper Counties in a level 1 Marginal Risk, but it appears the best severe chance will stay south of Chicagoland. Showers will taper off this evening, and then as winds turn northerly tonight and the temperatures drop, we'll see lake effect showers develop tonight and Thursday. As temperatures drop Thursday night and Friday, snow will likely mix in with rain, especially in Northwest Indiana. Little to no accumulation is expected at this time, but we'll monitor the trends closely. As for temperatures, plan for lows in the upper 30s to low 40s tonight, and then we only rebound to the mid 40s on Thursday. Friday will start off near the freezing mark with afternoon highs in the lower 40s. A drying trend is expected for Northwest Indiana over the weekend, but with that said, we'll still have at least a few isolated lake effect showers on Saturday. Away from the few possible showers, skies will be mostly sunny to partly cloudy across most of NE Illinois. Temperatures will be in the mid 40s on Saturday. Sunday looks great with mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies and highs in the upper 40s. 50s return early next workweek with plenty of sunshine Monday through Wednesday. Related article Chicago snow timeline: When we could see our first flakes of the season Chicago could see its first snowflakes of the season later this week as lake effect rain and snow showers move through the region Thursday and Friday. The Source: The information in this report came from the FOX 32 Chicago weather forecast. Weather Forecast Chicago