All but the immediate Lake Michigan shoreline was treated to summerlike warmth Monday. In just 9 hours time Monday, the temp here surged 38° from the day’s low of 45° to 2005’s highest reading to date—83° at 2:15 p.m.! That temperature was the highest here in 7 months (since 85° on Sept. 23) and the year’s second to reach or exceed 80°. Only four other April 18’s in the past 135 years have been warmer. The 83° peak reading equaled the normal high which occurs here on July 3 and exceeded Monday’s highs in Miami (80°), Key West (79°), Tampa (78°), New Orleans (77°) and Las Vegas (79°). The unseasonable warmth fueled an outbreak of severe t-storms in the Plains and western Midwest. Hail the size of golf balls covered the ground at Waco, Neb.
While the central U.S, enjoyed warmth, at the other end of the spectrum, McGrath, Alaska recorded a low of -18° Monday—a reading 38° below normal and a new record.
-Tom Skilling
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
