Starting between 6 and 7 a.m. last Thursday morning and ending at noon yesterday, Chicagoans experienced 126 consecutive hours with below freezing temperatures. This caps off a cold start to December that has seen temperatures average 4 to 5° below normal over a good portion of central and northern Illinois. A warm-up has started that should peak with highs in the 40s Friday and Saturday and even nighttime lows Thursday and Friday staying above freezing. These warmer readings along with light rain or drizzle Friday and Saturday could see much of the snow cover over NE Illinois vanish. However, low pressure moving out of the southern plains is forecast to track through northern Illinois Saturday. This could produce new snow accumulations later Saturday night. An arctic high pressure air mass will surge into the Midwest Sunday with Chicago’s afternoon temps probably falling into the teens.
-By Paul Dailey, 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.
