Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Chances for showers and thunderstorms across the Chicago area are highly likely Wednesday afternoon with a greater potential for severe weather in the far south suburbs and into Indiana, according to the National Weather Service.

Kevin Donofrio, a science and operations officer at the National Weather Service Chicago, said there’s an 80% to 90% chance of showers and thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon across the area with chances starting to decrease around 10 p.m. High temperatures will be about 70 and with lows in the lower 50s before Chicago-area residents wake up to temperatures about 40 Thursday.

Threats of an “organized line of storms and maybe a tornado or two” are in place for central Illinois down into the mid-to-lower Mississippi Valley Wednesday, Donofrio said. Areas south of a line from Joliet to Gary also have a strong chance of experiencing damaging winds.

Donofrio said the “chance (of a tornado) is not zero in the Chicago area, but it’s pretty low.”

“As we’re getting into the start of severe weather season, this is the time to keep your eye to the sky, especially if you’re planning on being outdoors,” he said. “We like to say, ‘When thunder roars, head indoors.’ “

The high temperature Tuesday was 69, according to the weather service. Temperatures for Tuesday night into Wednesday morning were expected to hover around the mid-60s. Donofrio said he expected “mainly dry” conditions overnight and a higher likelihood of rain after 6 a.m.

About 10 a.m. Wednesday, chances of precipitation are 50% to 60% before increasing in the afternoon. Most areas should expect an excess of a half an inch of rainfall while some could see over an inch when all is said and done Wednesday night.

[email protected]

More Top Picks Best Electric Meat Slicers For Home