Residents will turn out in droves on Saturday to mark St. Patrick’s Day weekend with a dyed-green Chicago River and a parade, but will rain spoil the party?
The annual events are attended by thousands of revelers each year, functioning as a kind of unofficial kickoff for spring time and giving residents a chance to enjoy some time outdoors after the winter.
The chance of rain looms in the forecast for the end of the week, but there is a strong possibility that it could miss not one, but two major events.
The first will be a total lunar eclipse, which is set to take place early Friday morning over the Western Hemisphere, including the Chicago area. It appears that any cloud cover will be minimal during that time, allowing residents to see the incredible show.
After a day Friday where temperatures are expected to rise into the low-to-mid 70s across the area, the threat of strong-to-severe thunderstorms will arrive forcefully into the forecast. According to the Storm Prediction Center, most of the Chicago area is at a “slight” risk of severe weather, with the far southwestern suburbs under an “enhanced risk,” along with the rest of Illinois.
The main threats will be damaging winds and a chance of some isolated tornadoes, according to the NBC 5 Storm Team.
The exact arrival of that storm system will likely be late Friday or early Saturday morning, but the good news for St. Patrick’s Weekend revelers is that the rain should clear out by the time boats hit the water to drop in the world-famous dye, allowing the Chicago River to transform into a sparkling shade of green for the day.
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What’s more, the rain should hold off for the parade as well, with highs in the upper-50s and low-60s in the Chicago area.
The one notable piece of the forecast will be the wind, which could gust in excess of 50 miles per hour at times during the late morning and early afternoon hours, according to forecast models.
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Another chance of rain will sweep through the area late Saturday and into Sunday morning, and cooler temperatures will arrive behind it, with readings in the low-to-mid 40s before rebounding into next week.
Stay tuned to the NBC 5 Storm Team for all the latest forecasts, and be sure to download the NBC Chicago app. There, you can get real-time alerts sent straight to your phone, live radar, and you can also watch the dyeing of the Chicago River live on Saturday morning beginning at 10 a.m.
