If Chicago’s official temperatures average nearly 12 degrees above normal the remainder of the month as forecast, January 2006 could well average over 35°—some 10 degrees above normal—ranking it as the third warmest in weather records dating back to 1871, according to Chicago weather historian Frank Wachowski. The prevailing upper-level steering jet stream currents persist in a southwest-to-northeast orientation over the United States, trapping cold Canadian air far to the north, allowing only brief incursions of winter-like temperatures out of Canada to reach as far south as northern Illinois.
A low pressure system is expected to intensify as it moves east through Lake Superior Tuesday, bringing very strong gale-force winds over the area. Later in the week, rains preceding and accompanying slow-moving low pressure out of the central Plains will probably add to the monthly precipitation total, which is already 0.26 inches above normal.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
