Strong low pressure was centered over eastern Lake Superior this afternoon with the associated cold front extending south through Lake Michigan to the southern tip of Illinois. As the low center moves very slowly east, the cold front will bow out and race across Indiana and Ohio into Pennsylvania later tonight. A tight counterclockwise flow around the low will see Chicago-area winds gradually shift to northwest and strengthen - probably reaching gusts to or exceeding 40 mph by this evening and then maintaining the gustiness through the night.
Even though the sun has broken through, its impact should be offset by cool air spreading into the area, as cold high pressure sinks into the Midwest behind the cold front. As a result, we have probably seen our high temperatures for the day with readings in the lower to middle 60s. Scattered showers are still occurring well behind the low over western Wisconsin, and that area of unstable air will probably move across southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. So widely scattered showers could still occur - at least until midnight - especially in northern locations closer to the Wisconsin state line.
