The Autumnal equinox Thursday signals a more fall-like weather pattern. A cold front will whip through northeast Illinois today preceded by gusty winds and a line of showers or thunderstorms that could produce some severe weather. Thursday storms will precede another cold front which is expected to stall south of Chicago. This could leave the metro area the target of a front that may meander north and south, with alternating southerly and northeasterly winds giving a taste of summer or fall and a persistent threat of precipitation.
Tropical storms Philippe and Rita are each expected to strengthen to hurricane force during the next 24 hrs.—Philippe moving toward Bermuda far off the east coast, while Rita takes a more threatening route south of Florida into the Gulf of Mexico. By next weekend Rita could curve north with it’s heavy rains spreading up the Mississippi Valley mixing with the front over this area next weekend.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
