CHICAGO – The new Drought Monitor came out Thursday morning and shows most of Chicagoland is in a moderate drought. Kendall County, Southern Kane, DuPage, Northern Cook and Southeastern Lake (IL) counties are currently experiencing severe drought.

Much needed rain and embedded thunderstorms will arrive this evening into early Friday. Most areas will see about half an inch of rain, but between I-80 and I-90 the total could exceed an inch. On Friday morning, showers will weaken from west to east, allowing skies to clear in the afternoon. High temperatures on Friday will be in the low to mid 60s.

Our weekend looks great with sunny skies and highs in the upper 50s and low 60s. It will be warmer early next week, with temperatures climbing back into the 60s on Monday.

Near record warmth is possible on Tuesday under partly cloudy skies, with highs in the upper 70s. More clouds will move in on Wednesday and there will be a chance of showers from Wednesday to Thursday. These showers will be associated with a cold front.

Halloween will likely start with rain showers in the morning. Currently it looks like temperatures will be in the 50s to 60s during the day.