Saturday becomes the 19th consecutive day with a high below 90°. While this ninth weekend of meteorological summer promises to be eminently comfortable, its temperatures are likely to fall below normal thanks in part to Saturday’s NE winds. Five of the past eight weekends have fallen below seasonal norms. It’s a trend at odds with last year. Today’s date marked the beginning of Summer 2006’s longest hot spell of six straight 90s—including a 99° high!
Though not as humid as in recent days, moisture in the lowest 4,000 feet of the atmosphere fosters cloud formation in the cooler hours (i.e. at night and in the early morning). Lighter winds in Sunday’s predawn could foster the development of fog patches, likely to burn off as temperatures warm in the afternoon.
Big rains which swamped sections of Wisconsin with over 5” of rain Thursday night diminished as they settled into Illinois. Still, some north and west suburbs reported up to 0.80” of rain.
--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.
