‘Numerous’ thunderstorms could bring damaging winds, flash flooding overnight

Following scattered storms, a rainy day and hundreds of flight cancellations at Chicago’s airports, the region remained under a severe weather a threat as the weekend inched closer.

“Numerous” thunderstorms were possible late Friday night into Saturday morning, with the greatest risk between 2 and 7 a.m. as another line of storms moves in.

Areas already soaked by plenty of rain, including parts of northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana, saw anywhere between 1 and 3 inches of rain by Friday evening, with rain falling as fast as 1 inch per hour. A flash flood warning was issued for southeastern Cook County, central Will County and northern Lake County in northwest Indiana until 8:45 p.m. – but has since expired.

Showers were slated to continue through around 9 or 10 p.m., offering a brief break until roughly 2 a.m., NBC 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Kevin Jeanes said.

While widespread severe weather isn’t expected, locally gusty to damaging winds may occur, the NWS stated. Flash flooding will be possible overnight, as heavy rain could develop again in areas inundated by rainfall.

Minor flooding will be possible Saturday morning, which will begin with unusually warm conditions. Temperatures will sit around 60 degrees around 9 a.m., which will likely be the warmest part of the day.

After the burst of warmth, a cold front will move through, causing winds to shift to the northwest at around 20 to 30 miles per hour. Temperatures will fall through the 50s and eventually reach the 40s closer to sunset.

For anyone hoping to be outdoors, there’s some good news: the storms are expected to end early – likely before 8 or 9 a.m.