Weather Forecast: What's in the North Shore Clouds?

Weekend Weather Planner for the North Shore

There are heat advisories up for the entire area on Friday with peak heat index values possibly reaching 100 by mid to late afternoon.

Looks like Mother Nature may have her own fireworks show in the works with thunderstorms over the holiday weekend. However, these will be widely scattered at best. With many dry hours to enjoy, there will several opportunities to enjoy fireworks shows across the local area.

Saturday: Partly sunny intervals with a 40 percent chance of widely scattered showers and t-storms from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

• Rain Amounts: 0.15 to 0.45 inches
• Low temp: 75 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• High temp: 90 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• Wind: South at 10-20 mph, becoming northeast by 3 p.m.

Sunday: Partly cloudy and dry.

• Low temp: 68 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• High temp: 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Wind: Northwest at 5-13 mph, becoming northeast by 12 p.m.

Monday (Independence Day): Partly to mostly cloudy with a 25 percent chance of a few isolated showers from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. 40 percent scattered of widely scattered showers and t-storms from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. Tuesday.

• Rain Amounts: 0.10 to 0.50 inches
• Low temp: 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
• High temp: 87 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• Wind: South at 8-13 mph with gusts to 20 mph.

Your Week Ahead: July 1 to July 8 (Northeast Cook County)

The best chance of rain will be during the first half of the week with a trend back to quiet weather on July 7 and July 8 as high pressure builds in. This will cause the front to shift back south with the best chance of rain over downstate Illinois.
Temperature Trends: Temperatures will average several degrees above normal
Precipitation Trends: Rain will average below normal 

General Weather Discussion for the Week Ahead

Hot weather will be the big story over the next few days with highs in the 90s both today and tomorrow. A large heat dome in the south will expand north and make its way into the Midwest with dangerously hot conditions continuing during the first half of the weekend. High temps in the mid 90s can be expected Friday with peak heat index values closer to 99 or 100 when the relative humidity is included. The best chance of scattered t-storms will be off to our east with a cap in place over our region. A cap simply prevents t-storms from occurring over a particular area, and this will be the case over our area through tonight allowing our temps to stay well above average.

A weak frontal boundary will be in place over the holiday weekend with a chance of scattered showers and t-storms developing by Saturday, mainly after 10 a.m. While heavy rain and lightning will certainly be a threat for some areas, many of these storms will hit and miss. The good news is that rain has been taken out of the forecast on Sunday with highs cooling off slightly into the mid 80s. Sunday night also looks dry with the best chance of rain staying well to our south.

Expect the front to move back north again increasing our chances of rain by the Fourth of July, especially late in the day or at night. Any storms that do occur though will scattered and much of the day will probably end up being rain free.

After a few more waves of showers on Tuesday and possibly Wednesday morning, the remainder of the week looks decent with partly sunny skies and temps returning closer to normal with highs in the low to mid 80s. There are signs that storms may return to the area around July 10 or July 11 as the front moves back north as a warm front. This has been the dominant pattern for the last several months and there is no sign that this pattern will change anytime soon.

Your Weekly Weather Fact: The average mean temperature for the month of July is: 73.2 degrees Fahrenheit