Autumn paid an early visit to much of the Midwest Saturday as a multitude of temperature records fell by the wayside. The city’s official 39º record low at O’Hare not only broke the old record of 40º for Sept. 15 set in 1985, but it was also the city’s earliest in the season sub-40º reading in 117 years since a 39º low on Sept. 13, 1890. Some other record lows set at nearby locales included Rockford (35º), Springfield (35º), Moline (36º) and Madison (32º). Just to the west, both Cedar Rapids (31º) and Dubuque (32º) experienced their earliest freezes on record.
The brief chill will soon be forgotten as a vigorous warm-up is likely to boost temperatures more than 50º over the next few days to highs tickling the 90º mark by Tuesday. The rest of the week also promises to be warm with readings fluctuating through the 80s on most days.
--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.
