For the next seven days, daily highs are forecast to be at least 10 degrees above normal, with the week’s average probably closer to 15 degrees above norm. That along with frequent periods of rain after midweek should accelerate the spring tree/plant-blooming process over northeast Illinois. A weak cold front will move through northern Illinois Tuesday, preceded by gusty southerly winds and showers. Moisture with this system is expected to be on the light side. After moving south of the Ohio River, this front will transform to a warm front Thursday and begin a slow movement north. With time, southerly flow from the Gulf of Mexico will eventually be lifted over the warm frontal surface, producing significant weekend rains with embedded thunderstorms over first central and then northern Illinois.
Nearly stationary low pressure off the West Coast will trigger heavy lowland rains over northern California and accumulating snows in the Sierra Nevadas.
--Paul Dailey, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
