The powerful easterly winds that tapped dry air for a time and held rain at bay much of
Thursday finally eased and yielded to rain late in the day. The winds were behind
6-foot-high waves that pounded the Illinois shoreline for a time. But as velocities fell,
the atmosphere became saturated with moisture and the heavens opened. Rains that had
drenched areas of Illinois west and south of Chicago much of the day began falling in the
western suburbs from Aurora and Joliet around 4 p.m. and began falling in the city around
6 p.m. Downstate rainfall totals included 1.10 inches at Marion, 1.09 inches at Effingham
and 1.01 inches at Decatur. Nearly 0.70 inches fell in St. Louis.
TEMPS PLUNGE LATE SUNDAY AS ARCTIC FRONT HITS WITH 30 M.P.H.-PLUS WINDS
Big changes loom early next week as a strong cold front passes through the city Sunday
afternoon, sending readings plummeting from highs near 60 degrees midday to the
lower 30s by Monday morning, bringing not only light showers or sprinkles but
possibly the season's first snow flurries. Highs on Monday will struggle to reach the
lower 40s, a level more typical of late November or early December.
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
