Illinois Weather March 4 Morning - 30° Above Normal

Good morning. Illinois. I'm Aaron Jolly. That thick gray blanket outside your window? It's not going anywhere fast. We're waking up to 33 degrees under stubborn overcast skies. If you're near the Wisconsin border this morning, you're practically driving blind — visibility has dropped to a quarter mile or less in spots. A Dense Fog Advisory sticks around until 10 A.M., so give yourself extra time on the commute. In the next 24 hours. In Here's strange part, step three hours south and it's a different world. Central Illinois is running a solid 31 degrees to 31 degrees warmer than the north. Springfield hits 51 degrees today, while Chicagoland struggles to reach 39. That sharp temperature difference is like striking a match — it triggers showers and thunderstorms this afternoon, mainly along and south of I-70. Keep your eyes on the sky between 2 and 8 P.M. A few storms could turn strong with gusty winds and small hail. Tonight, the rain spreads north while you sleep. Lows hold steady in the upper 30s to upper 40s. And that fog redevelops across most areas. You might have trouble spotting that full moon rising through all the cloud cover. Thursday stays damp and gray with another round of showers. But Friday. Friday is the head-turner. We're talking mid-60s in Chicago and near 77 in central Illinois. That's nearly 30 degrees above normal for early March. Enjoy the spring tease, but stay weather-aware Friday night — a cold front brings another round of storms. The weekend quiets down with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s under partly sunny skies. If you're heading out early, grab those low-beam headlights. That fog is thicker than it looks. For the extended outlook, check the latest forecast as confidence improves. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.