Poor air quality, ‘marginal’ risk of severe weather in Chicago area f…

Sunday is shaping up to be an interesting one from a weather perspective in the Chicago area, with air quality concerns and the threat of severe weather both in the forecast.

According to the National Weather Service, an air quality alert will be in effect through at least midnight across the entire upper Midwest, including all of Illinois and Indiana, as a result of wildfire smoke drifting into the region from western Canada.

That smoke has already begun causing hazy conditions throughout the region, with residents with respiratory ailments and preexisting conditions urged to limit time outdoors.

That is going to continue through most of the day, but the threat of severe weather won’t really emerge in the forecast until later on. There is a chance of thunderstorms south of Interstate 80 on Sunday afternoon, according to the NBC 5 Storm Team, but the main event likely won’t develop until late Sunday night.

That’s when a cold front will begin to really…