Midway airport’s 91° high on Wednesday, the 4th consecutive day of 90°+, tied the seasonal total of four 90° days for all of last year’s chilly summer. Midway’s 77-year normal tallies 24 days of 90°+. O’Hare topped out at 89°, cooled by an afternoon thunderstorm and nearly a quarter inch of rain. These widespread storms of recent days should increase in areal coverage Thursday, when a cold front attempts to break east from the chilly Rockies toward the Midwest, stalling west of Chicago.
However, remnants of the decaying boundary should push into the Chicago area for the best chance of needed rains Thursday and to a lesser extent on Friday.
Heat and humidity retain their grip on the region into next week, but models now present a convincing case for solid cold frontal passage Tuesday with temperature settling back to normal Wednesday.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
