A return to warm and humid air is predicted for the Chicago area over the weekend with scattered gusty thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service.

       Temperatures will hit the 80s, and potentially creep into the low 90s Sunday and early next week. Despite the high likelihood of “popcorn” thunderstorms throughout the weekend, there is no predicted widespread severe threat, the weather service said.

       Common in summer humidity, popcorn thunderstorms are brief storms, often lasting an hour or less.

       “The humid air is back, and a little warmer,” meteorologist Matt Friedlein said.. “With that comes an unsettled pattern too, some scattered showers and storms at different times through the weekend in the region.”

       Cloudiness with some breaks of sun is expected as well. With more humidity comes more moisture in the air, leading to more instability in potential rainfall.

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       This instability in weather patterns is common toward the tail end of summer, said Friedlein, with the weather service’s Chicago-area forecast office. He said these kinds of weather patterns are difficult to predict beyond 36 hours ahead of time.

       “This is somewhat common in the mid to late parts of summer here, where it’s a little tricky to time specific windows of thunderstorms,” Friedlein said.

       Despite thunderstorm predictions, Friedlein said large portions of Saturday and Sunday look to be dry.

       Friedlein reminded residents to remember basic heat safety, including wearing sunscreen, taking breaks from the sun and drinking plenty of fluids.

       “We’ve had some warm weekends this summer,” he said. “But the heat can sneak up on you, especially the sun, it doesn’t take long and the sun can wear you out.”

       mrush@chicagotribune.com

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