A GORGEOUS 100% SUNNY DAY is the way we close out the month of August 2023 and the three month meteorological summer season—each noteworthy for their warmth.  While August finishes just 0.4-deg ABOVE NORMAL—that’s still warm enough to average among the 22% warmest Augusts of the past 153 years.  And the June, June, August METEOROLOGICAL SUMMER seaon finishes among the top 20% warmest of the past 153 years—finishing with each month having posted a modest surplus and the season as a whole averaging 0.4-deg ABOVE NORMAL.

It’s worth noting that 7 of the past 8 months, monthly temps have finished ABOVE NORMAL—and 2023 as a whole comes in 2.1-deg above normal and is the 6^th warmest year to date of the 153 on the books since official records began in Chicago back in 1871.

BUT HERE’S ANOTHER EMERGING STORY.  WE’RE DRY—–VERY DRY!.  August, typically one of our wettest months, has seen has than 1/3 its normal rain.  The O’Hare observation site has tallied all of 1.33″ this month—nearly 3″ below the normal of 4.25″.  That puts August precip at just 31% normal.

Interestingly, we’ve gone a near record (for August) 14 days without rain.  The record for MOST CONSECUTIVE AUGUST DAYS without rain is 15 set in August 1899 and August 1953.

And there’s NO RAIN IN SIGHT until perhaps next Wednesday.  That means the upcoming Labor Day weekend will be RAIN-FREE

We had the coolest morning in 75 days this morning in Chicago with lows of 54 at both airports—O’Hare and Midway.  That’s a low temp which is normal for Sept 23 & 24—-more than 3 weeks from now. 

Inland OVERNIGHT low temps away from the “warmth” of the city and Lake Michigan—dropped as low as 41 at South Beloit, 42 at Kirkland and 43 st Sugar Grove and at Hebron, LaPorte and Roselawn in Indiana. 

MAJOR WARMING IS ON THE WAY with heat moving in for the Labor Day weekend. The weekend itself will see highs of 93 Saturday and 99 Sunday and Monday.  But humidities will remain low Saturday and Sunday—so nights will cool  nicely and while weekend average temps will run 6 to as many as 15-deg ABOVE NORMAL—-this weekend will come in only a little over 11-deg warmer than last weekend (which if you’ll remember was “cool”–with 77/63 recorded Saturday and temps of 75/61 Sunday.

The humidity begins arriving Monday and forward next week which is when the air is to grow more uncomfortable. Heat indices will reach 98 Sunday but surge to 105 Monday and 99 Tuesday.

HERE’S MY LATEST THURSDAY CHICAGO METRO FORECAST:

TONIGHT: Clear and cool. Light winds. Lows 55—more typical of mid Sept—while coolest inland lows will drop into the mid to upper 40s.

FRIDAY: Sunny and warmer. High 87 inland—but upper 70s beaches.

FRIDAY NIGHT: Clear, not quite as cool—but still below normal for the time of year. Low 61—mid 50s cooler inland locations.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY: Mostly sunny, turning breezy and hot each afternoon—but with modest humidities. High Saturday 93. Sunday’s high 99—with a peak afternoon heat index of 98.

MONDAY AND TUESDAY: Sunshine and some mixed cottony cumulus clouds, breezy, hot and more humid. High Monday (Labor Day) 99 with a peak heat index topping 100—possibly as high a s105.  Tuesday’s high 94 with a heat index approaching 100 in the afternoon.

WEDNESDAY: Partly cloudy, quite warm and humid. Chance of an isolated afternoon t-storm or two. High 93—peak heat index approaching 100.

THURSDAY: Better chance of showers and t-storms, warm and humid. High 80.