What started out as a beautiful Wednesday with sunny skies and temperatures reaching the lower 70s, took an abrupt downward spiral in the afternoon as waves of showers and thunderstorms spread into the area from the northwest. The storms turned severe with hail peppering much of the area, some of it as large as golf balls. Winds shifted to the north reaching speeds as high as 40 m.p.h. as the mercury plunged 20º into the lower 50s erasing all memories of the delightful morning. The Chicago area was not alone in Wednesday’s storminess with hail and strong winds reported throughout the Great Lakes region.
The weather will continue on the cool side into this weekend, but longer-range computer forecasts hint at a substantial warm-up by the first of next week with readings headed for the 80s, uncharted territory for Chicago temperatures so far this May.
-Steve Kahn, WGN-TV Meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
