Chicago's temperatures take off in Wednesday's gusty southerly winds -- reaching the
highest levels in two weeks. The warm-up is being driven by the same air mass behind
Tuesday's temperature surge in the nation's mid-section, which saw readings in the 70s in
Nebraska and in the 90s in western Texas, where highs included 94 degrees at Ft. Stockton and
Pecos -- and a record-breaking 90 at Midland.
A major winter storm comes together Thursday and Thursday night in the Plains and
Midwest. Computer models predict 60+ m.p.h. southerly winds from the Gulf of Mexico north to
Illinois by late Thursday -- a flow expected to act as an atmospheric conveyor belt for
moisture. More than an inch of evaporated moisture is to reach the Chicago area.
THREAT OF MORE PRECIPITATION THAN IN A TYPICAL FEBRUARY
With abundant moisture and tremendous atmospheric lift there is a growing potential for
thunderstorms and heavy rainfall. A normal February produces 1.63 inches of liquid
precipitation here and totals from this storm could easily top that amount.
--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.
