Illinois Weather March 3 Evening - Flood Warning

Good evening. Illinois. I'm Aaron Jolly. Folks, walk outside right now and that fog hits you like a wet blanket. Thirty six degrees. Gray. Damp. The kind of air that seeps into your bones. And there's a reason for it. In the next 24 hours., A warm front is parked across south central Illinois tonight. Think of it as a dividing line. South of it, temperatures are climbing fast. North of it, you're stuck in the 30s with that raw, soupy air clinging to everything. That front starts sliding north tonight and Wednesday. And it's dragging a LOT of rain behind it. So what does that mean where you live? Up in northern Illinois, you're holding at 30 degrees tonight. Mostly dry. Tomorrow brings a welcome push toward 50, but rain sneaks in by Wednesday night. Chicago, you're sitting at 35 tonight and staying there. Wednesday warms to 40, with rain arriving after 3 P.M. That damp chill off the lake? Not going anywhere. Now head south to central Illinois. That's where the action is. Showers and thunderstorms roll in tonight. We're talking nearly an inch of rain. Lows only drop to 43. Wednesday pushes 55 with more rain and fog stacking up. And if you're anywhere near Clay City, heads up. A Flood Warning kicks in Wednesday afternoon for the Little Wabash River. This is where it gets wild. We stay soggy through Thursday. Then Friday. Highs could rocket into the mid 70s across central Illinois. Seventy five degrees in early March. Let that sink in. But strong storms are possible Friday night before we dry out for the weekend. One more thing worth noting. Spring equinox is just two weeks out. We're gaining almost three minutes of daylight every day now. You can feel the season turning, even through the fog. Charge your phone tonight. If severe weather pops Friday, you'll want those alerts ready. For the extended outlook, check the latest forecast as confidence improves. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.