Forecast: Beautiful today, cooler this weekend

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Today's Daily Digit

 

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EXPRESS FORECAST

Today: Sunny. 72-76. | Tonight: Clear. 51-57. | Tomorrow: Increasing clouds, isolated thundershowers late afternoon. 79-83. | A Look Ahead | Get Express Forecast by E-mail

FORECAST IN DETAIL

By David Streit, CWG Meteorologist

Today will be a picture perfect one: the kind you want to save for those dog days of summer. However, we then embark on a roller coaster ride of weather. It starts tomorrow with a summery day capped by some late-evening thundershowers. Then we dive down to a weekend of much cooler temperatures. Isolated pockets of frost are even possible Sunday morning in the colder suburbs. Finally, we pull into the station with a seasonable day to start the work week on Monday.

Today (Thursday): Thanks to high pressure dominating much of the Eastern U.S., we'll enjoy plenty of sunshine with just a few puffy afternoon clouds. Highs will be very pleasant, reaching the mid-70s, with winds from the west at just 5-10 mph. Confidence: High

Tonight: High pressure holds, meaning mostly clear skies. A light wind from the southwest (at around 5-10 mph) gives us pleasantly mild temperatures, falling into the 60s during the evening with overnight lows 51-57 (suburbs-city). Confidence: High

Keep reading for the forecast through Monday....

Tomorrow (Friday): A cold front crosses the Appalachians midday leading to increasing clouds. But that won't stop temperatures from peaking in the upper 70s to low 80s. Winds from the west should be near 10-15 mph. A shower or thundershower is possible late in the day, but most activity should hold off until the evening and overnight. Confidence: Medium-High

Tomorrow Night: It'll be a warm evening with temperatures falling through the 70s to the upper 60s. Thundershowers are possible through the evening, but most of the action probably won't come through until midnight or a little later. Expect a few brief downpours but nothing too severe. Winds from the west could pick up to near 25 mph in any stronger storms. Lows drop to the mid-to-upper 50s after the storms pass and winds shift to come from the northwest. Confidence: Medium

A LOOK AHEAD

After a sprinkle or two Saturday morning, look for skies to break by midday with clearing by evening. In the wake of the cold front, highs will struggle to do better than the low-to-mid 60s, made to feel chillier by a brisk wind from the northwest around 10-15 mph. Temperatures will drop quickly through the 50s in the evening. Confidence: Medium-High

Sunday morning will be quite chilly with lows in the upper 30s to low 40s. A few pockets of frost can't be ruled out in the outlying north and west suburbs. Afternoon temperatures recover nicely, though, under mostly sunny skies. Highs should reach the upper 50s to low 60s with winds from the northwest near 5-10 mph. Readings drop into the low-to-mid 50s Sunday evening. Confidence: Medium-High

Monday gets off to a chilly start with morning lows in the upper 30s to mid-40s. Overall, it should be a seasonable day with sunny skies, light winds and highs in the mid-to-upper 60s. Confidence: Medium-High