'Soaking' Rain, Storms, Warm Weather For New Year's In Illinois

ILLINOIS — A week after Illinois residents were dealing with sub-zero temperatures and were in the midst of a significant winter storm, the end of 2022 and the start of 2023 will prove to be much calmer.

After parts of the greater Chicago area experienced temperatures in the low 60s on Thursday, temperatures are expected to remain mild throughout the long holiday weekend, forecasters are predicting. Temperatures on Friday will be cooler than they were 24 hours ago, according to the National Weather Service, as a cold front moved into the region Thursday night.

Areas south of Interstate 57 may see some rain showers on Friday which are expected to come to an end Friday evening, forecasters said. Conditions will stay mostly cloudy over the weekend with temperatures reaching into the low 40s for Saturday before stretching into the low 50s on New Year’s Day to begin 2023.

There is a 20 percent chance of rain, mostly north of I-88 on Saturday evening, but the area should remain dry on Sunday. However, the chances of rain pick up on Monday, when there is a 40 percent chance of showers as temperatures again reach into the mid-50s.

Monday night brings the possibilities of a “soaking rain” and possibly a thunderstorm, with temperatures remaining in the upper 40s to mid-50s. AccuWeather is predicting a 99 percent chance of rain Monday night with some areas experiencing more than an inch of rain. Showers stick around into Tuesday when the area could see high temperatures into the low 60s before conditions again cool off into the mid-week to begin January.