CHICAGO - Chicago has had three consecutive days on which the high was 83°. Today should be a little bit warmer under mostly sunny skies. I think we can hit 86° with temperatures once again a few degrees cooler near the lake. Tonight, skies will be mostly clear with lows in the low to mid 60s.

Much of the area will see a good chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms on Friday.

Any storms that develop could bring gusty winds, blowing dust, frequent cloud-to-ground lightning, and heavy downpours capable of causing localized flooding.