Wednesday’s 30° daytime high in Chicago was the coldest in 33 days and just a hint of things to come. Larger changes loom. The area’s extended mild streak, which has propelled Winter 2006-07’s temperature rank to 5th mildest since 1871, accommodates two more days of 40s before temps plunge. The predicted downturn is part of mammoth pattern change across North America, expected to return wintry weather to much of the Lower 48 over the coming week.
Frigid arctic air is already taking hold out West. A rare winter storm watch has been issued for Las Vegas, Nevada, where the average annual snowfall is limited to an inch. As much as 1-3" may fall over parts of that area with more than 8" a possibility in nearby mountains. That city’s heaviest snow was a 9.7" accumulation which fell Jan. 10, 1949. Interior California is bracing for the coldest temperatures in a decade. And, the chill is to reach Phoenix by the weekend.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
