Chicago weather: Caught in a cold snap

CHICAGO - A quick recap of yesterday’s severe weather in our viewing area or anywhere near it: There wasn’t any.

Now, let’s focus on the cold today and early tomorrow. Highs today will range from the mid 40s near the lake to the mid 50s well west of the city. Skies will be mostly cloudy for a few hours this morning, followed by clearing.

Under moonlit skies tonight, lows will drop to the mid 30s downtown, but in suburbia there will be many areas that dip below freezing. A Freeze Watch is in effect for northern Cook, Lake, McHenry, Kane and counties west. This will likely be upgraded to a freeze warning. These are areas where lows might sink below 30 degrees for a couple of hours.

Tomorrow will be sunny and milder with 60 degrees attainable away from the lake. An active period of showers and storms accompanies a big warmup starting Friday and lasting through the weekend. Current timing would favor Friday and Sunday afternoons as periods when storms are most likely. I think most of Saturday ends up dry.

Highs climb from the low/mid 60s Friday into the upper 70s over the weekend.