Forecast: Clear, chilly before multiple waves of storms

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Chicagoland will be mostly clear and chilly on Monday night, with temperatures bottoming out in the mid-30s.

April begins Tuesday under a mix of sun and clouds and cooler than normal temperatures. Conditions will turn breezy in the afternoon as easterly winds blow 10-20 mph with some gusts up to 30 mph. Look for highs to be nearly 10 degrees below normal, reaching to about 44 degrees.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Clouds lower and thicken.  Scattered showers possible Tuesday evening, but a better chance of showers and potentially some gusty thunderstorms after midnight. Increasingly gusty winds shifting from the east to southeast 15-30 mph with some gusts near 40 mph. Low: 39/then temperatures slowly rise by Wednesday morning.  

The potential for severe weather enters Wednesday’s forecast. More on that below.

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Current Conditions

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Next Few Hours

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Looking Ahead

The potential for severe weather exists beginning late Tuesday night (more so early Wednesday morning) as multiple waves of thunderstorms lift across the metro area. The primary threats with the first round will be large hail, gusty winds and vivid lightning. 

A higher risk for severe weather exists on Wednesday as the entire area has been placed in a level 3 of 5 assessment by the Storm Prediction Center. All hazards are on the table including damaging winds, large hail, tornadoes and heavy downpours. 

A powerhouse jet stream is predicted to be in place Wednesday afternoon. With such powerful winds aloft, thunderstorms which ascend into this upper wind field are able to “mix” some of this wind energy down to the surface in the form of powerful gusts and even rotating super cellular thunderstorms. 

On the cold side of this winter storm, heavy, wet, wind driven snow is likely impact portions of the Upper Midwest with 8”+ snowfall in the hardest hit locations.