Update at March 31, 12:35 p.m: Much of the Chicago area, particularly southern and western suburbs along with portions of northwest Indiana, are now under a "Moderate" risk for severe weather threats, meaning widespread severe storms are likely. The moderate threat level is the fourth of a five-scale system from the Storm Prediction Center. The previous "Enhanced" threat level is third on the five-scale system. Live radar can be found here. Our original story continues below.
Severe weather is threatening the entire Chicago area Friday, with heavy rain, thunderstorms and damaging winds in the forecast, and the potential for everything from hail, to flooding, to "rain-wrapped" tornadoes, the NBC 5 Storm Team says.
And although Friday morning may appear mild and dry, with some spotty showers still lingering in parts of McHenry, Lake and Cook counties, Friday afternoon and into the evening is expected to be a much different story, with numerous storms expected beginning in the late afternoon.
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Here's a current timeline of when the potentially severe weather is expected to move in.
Friday Morning
Forecast models show Friday morning will be off to a mild start, with some spotty showers lingering into 8 a.m.
Local
By 11 a.m. however, a break in the rain is expected, and some sunshine is expected to peek through the clouds.
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Temperatures Friday morning remain above average and climbing, hitting 60 degrees by noon, the NBC 5 Storm Team reports. Winds however will remain gusty, clocking in at around 30 to 40 miles per hour outside of the storms.
Friday Afternoon, Evening
Don't let the early afternoon weather lull fool you.
Between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. is when the area will see its greatest risk for intense and potentially severe weather, with "two rounds possible" in that time frame, the National Weather Service tweeted.
While rain and storms are expected to break in the 11 a.m. hour, they'll begin to pick back up again between 2 and 3 p.m. And according to the NBC 5 Storm Team, these storms have the potential to be severe.
The Storm Prediction Center shows the entire Chicago area including suburbs along the lake and to the north, west and south is under an "enhanced" risk of severe weather beginning around 3 p.m.
That risk level ranks at a three on a scale of five, the NBC 5 Storm Team says.
Between 4 and 5 p.m., numerous storms across the region are possible, the NBC 5 Storm Team says, with frequent lightning, torrential downpours, a limited hail risk and an area-wide threat of rain-wrapped tornadoes. And in addition to the gusty winds expected outside of the storm, powerful gusts during a thunderstorm could exceed 70 miles per hour.
Another storm with the same threats moves in between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. from west to east and will blow through the area quickly, traveling at speeds of 60-to-70 miles per hour.
By 9 p.m., it's expected to hit northwest Indiana, and northwest Michigan swinging as far east as South Bend, and as far north as Benton Harbor.
Wind Advisory
According to the NBC 5 Storm Team, a wind advisory with gusty winds up to 50 miles per hour will take effect at 3 p.m. Friday for counties mainly near and to the south of I-80. The advisory will last until 1 p.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service says, with tree damage, power outages all possible.
Even stronger winds could be accompanied by the storms moving through the area, the NBC 5 Storm Team says.
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Another storm with the same threats moving in between 7 and 8 p.m. from west to east will blow through the area quickly, traveling at speeds of 60-to-70 miles per hour. By 9 p.m., it's expected to hit Northwest Indiana.
According to ComEd, in the event of power outages, power will be restored to critical infrastructure such as hospitals, police and fire stations and nursing homes first, followed by repairs that will restore power to the greatest amount of customers.
“The significant winds that will accompany this storm could be impactful to our customers and communities,” said Dave Perez, senior vice-president of Distribution Operations, ComEd. “We know that any outage is an inconvenience. Our crews will be working around the clock to restore customers that experience outages quickly and safely.”
Weekend Weather
Overnight hours are expected to be dry, and temperatures Saturday are expected to drop dramatically, going back into the mid 40s. Additionally, the morning hours could see a chance for some mixed precipitation.
By Saturday afternoon, winds are going to pick up considerably, with some gusts exceeding 30-to-40 miles per hour, according to forecast models.
Sunday is expected to be dry, and temperatures will be back up into the upper-50s and low-60s, forecast models show.
