The Chicago area is at serious risk of severe weather on Thursday, but another weather threat could emerge on Friday.

According to the National Weather Service, all of northeastern Illinois will be under a fire weather watch beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, and continuing through 7 p.m. in the evening.

That watch will include McHenry, Lake, DeKalb, Kane, DuPage, Cook, LaSalle, Kendall, Grundy, Will and Kankakee counties, according to NWS.

Sustained winds of 20-to-30 miles per hour are expected, with gusts up to 45 miles per hour, according to forecast models.

In addition, a low relative humidity of just 20% will provide the necessary fuel to allow fires to spread rapidly, leading officials to ask residents to use extreme caution outside.

To complicate matters, more thunderstorms could develop on Friday, and lightning strikes could also cause fires to break out.

Outdoor burning is strongly discouraged as a result on Friday, and a red flag warning could potentially be issued.