The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement that essentially warns residents to brace yourselves: The balmy, 70-degree temperatures we’ve enjoyed today are about to plummet.

“A powerful cold front to blast through the area late this afternoon into this evening,” the statement reads.

As this potent cold front moves in, the National Weather Service said, “temperatures will rapidly fall by as much as 20 degrees in less than a hour as winds shift to the northwest."

Accuweather's Illinois Weather Radar shows the reach of the cold front. 

"The front and the leading edge of the much colder air will reach a Harvard … to DeKalb ...to Ottawa line by around 4 p.m. By around 5 p.m. … the front should extend from the northern suburbs of Chicago south through the near western suburbs to near Plainfield …

“In addition to a rapid drop in temperatures...a narrow line of showers and possible thunderstorms will accompany the front and could produce brief wind gusts over 40 mph,” the statement reads. “Additional showers and some thunderstorms will likely affect the region at times through this evening.”

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