Wildfire smoke that has lingered in the Chicago area for several days will be pushed out by an approaching front that will bring a threat of severe weather to the region.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, most of the Chicago area is at a “marginal” risk of severe storms on Tuesday, with damaging winds, a limited hail risk and a non-zero tornado threat all in play.
Before that system arrives however, residents can expect above-average, summery temperatures on Tuesday, with highs once again soaring into the upper-80s and humid conditions prevailing during the day.
Wildfire smoke, which has been impacting the area for several days, will start to be blown away by the approaching storm front, and while it could reemerge as a threat in coming days, skies will clear of the smoke at least temporarily, according to forecast models.
Showers could start to develop on Tuesday evening as the front slowly churns toward the Chicago area, but the main event will likely occur late Tuesday night and even into Wednesday morning, with strong-to-severe thunderstorms possible, especially in areas to the west of the city.
According to the SPC guidance, McHenry, Lake, DeKalb, Kane, DuPage, Cook, LaSalle, Kendall, Grundy and most of Will counties are all included in that risk category, though showers and storms could still impact Kankakee County and parts of northwest Indiana Wednesday.
Gusty winds of up to 60 miles per hour are possible with the strongest storms, along with a limited hail risk. A “non-zero” tornado threat also exists according to the NBC 5 Storm Team, along with a chance of localized flooding from heavy rains impacting the region.
The rain could persist well into Wednesday morning across the area, along with cooler temperatures as highs should only be in the 70s, a trend that will continue for most of the week, according to forecast models.
On Sunday another storm system could push its way through, but this time out of the north, and behind that front wildfire smoke from Canada and northern Minnesota and Wisconsin could drift over the Chicago area, causing more air quality concerns in the region.
Stay tuned to the NBC 5 Storm Team for all the latest weather news and information, and download the NBC Chicago app for real-time weather alerts sent directly to your phone.
