Afternoon downpours hit some of Chicago’s western suburbs Friday. Converging low-level winds and a vigorous disturbance aloft set the stage for the narrow corridor of rain, much of which fell between the regular reporting rain gauges at O’Hare and Rockford. Though the presence of hail likely affected Doppler radar precip estimates, it’s possible rainfall reached 1” at some locations—while just 0.13” was measured at O’Hare. But, those rains paled in comparison to the downpours responsible for swamping the U.S. Gulf Coast. Pensacola, Fla., drenched repeatedly by waves of t-storms, set new daily rainfall records both Thursday and Friday—receiving 13.96” of rain, four times the normal April total.
Chilly NNE winds ride across Lake Michigan’s western shoreline Saturday limiting shoreline readings to the 40s. It’s not an uncommon development this time of year. Over the past five years, winds in April have blown off the lake 50% of the time.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
