Don’t forget your umbrellas, Chicago, because a wet couple of days are ahead.
Widespread rain is expected throughout Chicagoland on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. The area will see between 1.5 and 3 inches of rainfall through Thursday night.
While minor flooding is possible for some rivers, no major flooding is expected, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Gino Izzi. There is an “elevated” flood risk on Thursday and a hazardous weather outlook advisory is in place for Cook County and Northeast Illinois.
Chicago’s steady, soaking rain is a result of an existing weather system from the Rocky Mountains becoming infused with tropical air from Hurricane Polo, according to Izzi.
Hurricane Polo, which intensified to a Category 5 Pacific system, made landfall in Mexico’s Baja California Sur Monday night as a Category 1 hurricane. The storm dissipated on Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center, but is dumping rain onto the southwestern United States. It’s warm, tropical moisture will reach as far north as Wisconsin.
Following the two days of rain, Chicago is expected to have two abnormally dry weeks, according to Izzi. However, the dry spell does not mean a completely dry fall ahead.
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“Certainly, the drier-than-normal conditions through the first few weeks of October don’t mean it’s not going to rain at all; it just means on the whole, precipitation will tend to end up below average,” Izzi said.