CHICAGO — Wednesday will start off nice, with highs in the 50s — but thunderstorms with possible hail and snow will hit later in the day.

The day is expected to begin mostly cloudy with a high of 52 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. That’ll change as thunderstorms and rain showers are expected to hit in the afternoon, with wind gusts up to 25 mph.

The wet weather will continue into the night, with rain and snow in the evening turning into all snow before 4 a.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures will dip to an expected low of 32 degrees.

The storms will be at their most severe 3-8 p.m. Wednesday, with damaging wind and hail possible, according to the National Weather Service. There could be tornadoes, with the area south of I-88 most at risk for those.

Though there will be snow, accumulation will be less than 1 inch, according to the weather agency.

Thursday could see more snow in the morning, and it’ll be chillier, with temperatures topping out at 41 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. There could be wind gusts up to 45 mph.

Friday will be partly sunny with a high of 55 degrees, though there will still be wind gusts up to 30 mph.

The weekend will see highs in the 40s, and more snow and rain is likely, according to the weather service.

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