CHICAGO - We are keeping an eye on a large storm system that, as of around 7 a.m., is over eastern Iowa. Fox 32 Meteorologist Mark Strehl has the forecast. It is likely that this storm will swing through just southwest of Chicago as we go through the late morning and early afternoon.

After a couple of days of cooler temperatures and mostly overcast skies in the Chicago area, humidity and likely thunderstorms are returning to the region to start the weekend.

Besides temperatures feeling in the high 90s, Chicago and surrounding areas are under an air quality alert until midnight, weather officials said.

A Chicago flash flood warning went out Tuesday night as the city experienced some of its heaviest rain since 2023. More than 4 inches fell in less than 90 minutes on the West Side.

By Friday night, increasing humidity and a vortex of storms developing over the northern plains will be much muggier conditions and the chance for severe weather Saturday.

The Chicago area has felt less of an impact from the Trump administration’s National Weather Service cuts than offices in the Quad Cities and downstate Lincoln.

Chicago cools off today before storms this weekend and a scorching heat wave next week that may bring the hottest weather of the season.