Chicago’s once mild winter, which boasted a 6.2-degree temperature surplus on Jan. 18, is about to head into deficit territory. A cold air blast following the Friday night/Saturday morning Alberta Clipper system should bring another couple of inches of snow to the area and complete the city’s month-long temperature slide from 9th to 72nd mildest out of 137 winters. With that job accomplished, the cold is living on borrowed time as a milder regime is expected to dominate here for meteorological winter’s remaining two weeks.
Monday promises to bring the city its first thaw in 23 days since a 34º high on Jan. 27, and temperatures reaching the lower 40s are possible by the end of next week as the warming trend gathers steam.
The warm-up should make great strides in eradicating much of the area’s deep snow cover—but at the price of extensive cloudiness and dense fog.
--By Steve Kahn, 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.
