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Chicago weather: Seven-day stretch of 80s on the way, severe storm risk grows Friday
JD Rudd has your weather update!
CHICAGO - We had wall-to-wall sunshine from start to finish today, but high temperatures were still a little shy of normal in most spots. That all changes on Wednesday as the wind begins to change direction.
Tonight features a clear sky and lows in the middle 50s. The wind will be very light and variable.
Looking ahead:
Winds shift to the southeast Wednesday, helping to reduce the influence of cool air off of Lake Michigan. Combine that with ample sunshine and we're going to see highs jump into the 80s for many of us. This will begin a streak of highs in the 80s that is expected to last through at least Tuesday of next week. We have not had seven days in a row of 80s since the end of July last year; 307 days ago!
Not only are we going to get into the 80s, but some spots may be flirting with the 90s by Thursday and Friday. Lows will also increase, holding in the 60s by the end of the week.
One thing to keep eyes on: we could be dealing with some strong storms by Friday afternoon into Friday evening. We'll have that very warm air in place, plus dew point values are going to go up. Then a weak front drops into the area and the combination of those ingredients will give us a risk of strong to severe storms.
Depending on how things play out on Friday, we could see lingering storm chances into Saturday. But if the front moves through fast enough, the bulk of Saturday could end up dry. Highs will remain in the middle 80s Saturday.
Sunday is shaping up to be dry under a partly cloudy sky. Highs holding in the middle 80s.
The start of next week appears to be dry and continued warm: lows in the upper 60s and highs in the middle 80s. Typical high for this time of year is in the mid to upper 70s. So for those that have wanted a long-lasting taste of summer, here you go.