Chicagoans who ventured in comfort out for lunch without a jacket Monday faced quite a surprise by the evening rush hour. Northeast winds had strengthened and inside a span of just 5 hours, temps had plunged nearly 15° into the 50s—the lowest evening temperatures here since early June. The pullback was especially dramatic in the northern suburbs where Lake County’s Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Mundelein and Lake Villa reported evening readings of only 52°. A temperature at that level equals typical highs here in early November and was cooler than the readings observed at the same time across most sections of Alaska’s arctic coast eastward into Canada’s Yukon Territory.
A second cold front passes around midday Tuesday and reinforces the chill. NW winds behind that front are to blow at 40 m.p.h. just above ground level raising the possibility some of that wind energy will “mix” down to the surface as powerful gusts.
--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.
