The weather doesn't get much nicer here in October. Chicagoans are in line for a
weekend likely to be the warmest of any until next spring.
Temperatures, which peaked at 72 degrees at O'Hare International Airport on Friday --
the warmest here in 13 days and October's first 70-degree-plus reading -- head even
higher Saturday and Sunday. The mid- and upper 70s predicted in all but immediate
lakeshore locations represent an increase of 16 degrees warmer than last weekend and
run at levels more than 20 degrees warmer than the same period a year ago. While
highs of 75 and 78 degrees are predicted Saturday and Sunday, readings only reached
54 and 59 degrees a year ago.
MONTANA, WYOMING SNOWS ONLY BEGINNING
AND ALREADY UP TO 16" DEEP
The irony of this weekend's exceptional weather is that autumn's most powerful storm
to date is behind the warm south to south winds helping to buoy temperatures.
That system is hammering the West with weather advisories across 13 states. Snowfall
by late Friday had reached 16 inches at Nye, Mont., where wind gusts were clocked at
40 m.p.h.
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
