DOWNTOWN — The city could face flooding on Lake Shore Drive, 60-mph wind gusts and waves as high as 25 feet in Lake Michigan starting Wednesday night.
And then it'll be 70 degrees and sunny over the weekend.
The worst weather from this week — which has been rainy and chilly — is expected to hit Wednesday night and continue into Thursday, said Charles Mott, a National Weather Service meteorologist. Wind gusts could get as high as 35 mph during the day Wednesday, he said.
The weather gets even worse overnight: A high wind watch goes into effect 1 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, and there will be a lakeshore flood warning in effect 4 a.m. Thursday to 1 a.m. Friday.
Wednesday night could see a bit of snow mix with rain, and wind gusts could hit 60 mph going into Thursday morning, said Ricky Castro, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
The strong wind coming out of the north could help waves reach 15-20 feet, with some possibly as tall as 25 feet, Castro said. Those waves — and the fact that lake levels are higher than average — means flooding on lakefront bike paths and even Lake Shore Drive is possible.
Bicyclists and walkers should pay attention to closures along bike path areas, Castro said.
"With the lake levels being what they are, we're expecting flooding," Castro said. "Similar events have even flooded the northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive. ... If the road is flooding then the bike path is certainly going to be inundated."
The city is expected to get 1-2 inches of rain during the storms, Castro said. This kind of wind and wave event is "not all that common," he said.
"To get that is pretty rare," Castro said. "The most recent event was Halloween of 2014."
Things are expected to get better soon: Friday, Saturday and Sunday are expected to be sunny. Sunday should hit 70 degrees, Mott said, and Monday will be about as warm though it could rain.
