A tornado watch was issued for three Chicago-area counties late Friday night as the threat of fierce storms, isolated tornadoes and damaging winds loomed over the region.

A tornado watch was issued until 2 a.m. in Kankakee County in Illinois as well as Jasper and Newton counties in northwest Indiana, according to the National Weather Service.

With temperatures warming from the 40s to near 60 degrees, some locations could see storms that threaten to bring damaging wind gusts of up to 50 mph, heavy rain and possibly an isolated, brief tornado.

McHenry, Lake, DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, DuPage, LaSalle, Kendall, Cook and Will counties in Illinois and Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana are all under a wind advisory beginning at 3 a.m. CT Saturday and continuing until 3 p.m.

Across the Chicago area, the threat for severe storms differs. Areas south of Interstate 80 are under the slight risk for severe weather, while those north of I-80 are under the lesser marginal risk for severe weather.

Any storms that develop would likely impact the far southern suburbs and parts of northwest Indiana, according to forecast models.

A lot will have to do with which direction the Jetstream pushes the storm system Friday as it approaches the Midwest. Areas of southern Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee will all be under an “enhanced threat” of severe weather, with tornadoes likely in those areas, but if the system pushes southward toward the southern suburbs, then thunderstorms could be more likely to fire in the evening hours.

If severe storms move in, they likely wouldn’t arrive until late Friday evening, with the threat lingering from 8 p.m. into the overnight hours Saturday.

That weather system could potentially stick around into Saturday morning, and a drop in temperatures could lead to some light snowfall around the area if that occurs.

That snow would be blown around by increasingly strong winds, some of which could gust up to 50 miles per hour. That will be the primary threat for the area on Saturday, with temperatures dropping throughout the day as the weekend gets underway.

Sunday will see temperatures climb back into the mid-40s, and will set the stage for a dramatic warm-up heading into the new work week. Temperatures could potentially soar into the 60s by Wednesday, although a new storm system will bring in rains and gusty winds and put an end to the warmer conditions in fairly short order.

The NBC 5 Storm Team will follow the developing weather, and will have more details on just how the storm system will approach the Chicago area.