Scattered showers and periods of rain were expected across the Chicago area Tuesday, with some heavy downpours and gusty storms possible at times.
Early Tuesday, sprinkles lingered in Northwest Indiana, forecast models showed. Later Tuesday morning, heavier downpours were likely in Chicago's far southern counties, including in LaSalle, Grundy, Kankakee in Illinois and Newton and Jasper Counties in Indiana, the NBC 5 Storm Team said.
According to NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman, showers were expected to start around 8 a.m. and last through 12 p.m.
At that time, counties to the north may just see cloudy skies, Roman said. However, as a cold front moves in Tuesday afternoon, showers and storms will spread areawide, and the threat of severe weather looms.
Starting around 3 p.m. and lasting through the evening, " a few gusty storms" were possible, Roman said.
According to the National Weather Service a "marginal" risk of severe weather with scattered showers and thunderstorms was expected to hover over the area between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
"Threats that we will see with any storm later today would be gusty winds, small hail and heavy downpours," Roman said.
Local
In a tweet, the NWS noted that "a brief tornado can't be ruled out."
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
While temperatures Tuesday will remain mostly mild with highs in the 60s, the cold front passing through was expected to bring a dip in the mercury Wednesday, with temperatures dropping into the 40s.
Wednesday and Thursday were expected to remain dry, with the potential for patchy frost to develop early Thursday. Temperatures through the end of the week were predicted to bump back up, Roman said, with highs back in the 60s.
More rain chances arrive Friday, with scattered showers expected to last through Monday, Roman said.
