Forecast: Spring-like 70s, PM shower chances through Thursday

Today: Partly sunny. Chance of PM showers. 73-79. | Tonight: Evening shower chance, then mostly cloudy. 50-55. | Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy, chance of PM showers. 71-76. | Get Express Forecast by E-mail

A somewhat subjective rating of the day’s weather, on a scale of 0 to 10


Comfy temps & fresh air, but showers bubble late in the day. Get the Digit on Twitter| Discuss on Facebook

A big dip in the jet stream over the East assures a cooler than normal start to the work week. In addition, little waves in the atmosphere cycling through the region may ignite some afternoon/evening showers and thundershowers through Thursday. It’s more of an April or May-like pattern to start, but headed into the weekend, we dry out and more of a June-like pattern settles in.

Today (Monday): We should have a good deal of sunshine to start the day and refreshing 60s. But, with cold air at high altitudes, the sun will help to destabilize the atmosphere and clouds will build. I expect we’ll see some scattered showers and thundershowers (40-50% chance) develop, especially as a little wave in the atmosphere cycles into the region during the afternoon. Don’t be surprised - given the cold air aloft - to see some small hail in a few thundershowers. Highs are in the mid-70s. Winds from the northwest at 10-15 mph. Confidence: Medium-High

Tonight: Showers and thundershowers linger into the evening, but with the loss of daylight, they gradually diminish. Overnight, it’s partly to mostly cloudy with lows 52-57 (suburbs-city).. Confidence: Medium-High

For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend...

Tomorrow (Tuesday): It’s very similar to Monday but the airmass is slightly cooler and I think we’ll have fewer showers (20-30% chance of rain). Any showers that develop are most likely during the afternoon. Highs range from the low-to-mid 70s with variably cloudy skies. Confidence: Medium

Tomorrow night: A very slight chance of evening showers with partly to mostly cloudy skies overnight. Clouds may interfere with the transit of Venus - but it’s a tough call at this point. We’ll keep you posted. Lows range from 52-57 (suburbs-city) Confidence: Medium-High

Wednesday and Thursday closely resemble Monday and Tuesday with more sun favored in the morning and then clouds and scattered showers popping up in the afternoon and evening (30% chance or so of rain). Temperatures remain pleasant, with highs in the mid-70s, and overnight lows in the 50s. Confidence: Medium

Summer weather lovers will appreciate the forecast for Friday through the weekend: showers chances evaporate and we start a warming trend. All three days are partly to mostly sunny, with highs near 80 on Friday, 85 on Saturday, and perhaps 90 by Sunday. Overnight lows moderate from the 52-59 Friday morning to 54-63 Saturday morning, to 57-66 by Sunday morning (coolest readings in the north and west suburbs). Confidence: Medium