The powerful winds which dominated Wednesday spill over into a second day Thursday. They deliver the Chicago area’s coldest temperatures yet this meteorological autumn and the chilliest daytime readings in the 7 months since April 12—a day which saw a high of just 38°. Thursday won’t be a lot better, peaking at just 39°, though locations treated to more frequent sun are likely to see low 40s. While windy, peak velocities Thursday should fall short of the 45 m.p.h. gusts which raked Aurora and the 41 m.p.h. gusts at Geneva, Naperville and Rockford. Thursday’s maximum velocities are to hit 25-30 m.p.h. at times.
November reaches its halfway point Thursday. To date, the city’s coolest high temp has been 43° on Nov. 7. By contrast, the coolest daytime high by Nov. 15 a year ago was 34°. Weather records indicate the coolest reading by this date has averaged 35°, suggesting Thursday’s chill is overdue.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist
