For the first time this December, temperatures in Chicago broke the freezing mark just after midnight Sunday morning as a burst of milder air reached the city following a light snowfall, sending the mercury to 33º. The thaw was brief, lasting for only two hours before the cold air returned and temperatures dropped back into the 20s.
The persistent cold spell, now entering its third week, shows little sign of retreat, and while only a few flurries are on tap in Chicago today, several inches of lake-effect snow can be expected in the northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan snow belts, where up to 6 inches of snow fell Sunday.
Forecasters are keeping an eye on a developing weather system that may bring this month’s second significant snow to Chicago on Wednesday and Thursday. Snowfall this season is already approaching 16 inches at Midway Airport, a value not reached there until Jan. 20 last winter.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
