Illinois Weather 3/10 Morning - Unseasonably Warm

Good morning. Illinois. I'm Aaron Jolly. Step outside and you'll feel 57 degrees. Unseasonably warm. And about to get dangerous. We're tracking a severe weather outbreak this afternoon. Central Illinois is sitting in the bullseye — dewpoints climbing into the mid 60s, highs pushing 80 degrees. That's near-record territory for early March, springfield could tie its all-time high of 80 set back in 1955. But that warmth comes with a price. Starting around 6 P.M., thunderstorms fire up near the Illinois River. These storms mean business — large hail over 2 inches, damaging winds. And tornadoes. Some could be strong, EF2 or higher, there's an Enhanced Risk north of Springfield. South of that line, it's a Slight Risk. As the sun sets. Central Illinois sees mostly sunny skies this morning, then a 20 percent chance of storms after 4 P.M. High near 80. Tonight, those storms ramp up — 90 percent chance of heavy rain and thunderstorms. Low drops to 50. Chicagoland gets patchy fog this morning, then a 40 percent chance of severe storms this afternoon and evening. High only reaches 53 as cooler air filters in, tonight, storms continue with heavy rain likely. Low around 40. Northern Illinois mirrors that pattern — fog early, storms by late afternoon. High near 54. Tonight, thunderstorms likely. Low falls to 37. Wednesday brings cleanup. Rain and possibly wet snow showers taper off. Highs range from 41 in Chicago to 62 in Central Illinois before temperatures crash. Winds gust to 35 miles an hour. Thursday turns sunny with highs in the upper 40s to low 50s, friday brings another round of rain. The weekend stays unsettled with rain and possibly snow by Sunday as much colder air plunges in. Stay weather-aware this afternoon and evening, have multiple ways to receive warnings. Heavy rain could also cause localized flooding. Looking ahead. See you this afternoon.