Chicago records a 4^th consecutive day in the 90s—and the 7^th consecutive day of ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS Friday

East winds off Lake Michigan set up another day with a BIG TEMP SPREAD from the lakeshore to inland areas. At mid-afternoon Friday, temps ranged from 96 at Oswego and 95 at Warrenville and Plainfield to 66 at the Wilmette Harbor buoy, 68 at Waukegan Harbor and 73 on the Lake Forest shoreline.  That’s a spread of as much as 29-deg.

Air quality issues continued Friday with the Illinois EPA issuing an AIR QUALITY ALERT due to elevated ozone and particulate levels.

We’re back to a dry weather situation.  NO RAIN OR T-STORMS in the Chicago area Friday.  That had been expected. Isolated storms formed over western Illinois—well west of the Chicago area. Drying has occurred with dew points, a measure of atmospheric moisture, way down—as low as the upper 40s Friday afternoon versus the muggy 60s Wed and Thursday.

Thursday’s rains were selective and, while heavy at some locations, completely missed other areas close-by—typical of the varied nature of warm season rains & downpours.

Even with O’Hare’s 1.17″ over the past two days, the April/May rain tally at the site is abysmally low. O’Hare’s seen just 42% of its normal rain since April 1st—just 3.61″ versus the normal of 8.55″——a 4.89″ shortfall.  And no rain is expected this weekend and little if any rain (perhaps a shower on a cold front late Monday or Mon night) over the coming week.

Current estimates of 2 week rainfall in and around Chicago suggest totals may be less than half normal if current forecast reasoning verifies.  

A WARM, DRY WEEKEND and early week is on the way with cooling continuing on the lakeshore.

But a sharp cold front is to hit later Monday—it could be another PNEUMONIA TYPE FRONT which drops temps sharply—and cool, fairly windy but dry days are to follow Tue & Wed—with strong warming Thu & Fri before another possible cool-down next weekend.

FRIDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy and warm—but with lower humidities than in recent nights. Low 67—but low 60s cooler inland locations.

SATURDAY:  Mostly sunny with warm temps and low humidities. High 89 inland—but low to mid 70s immediate lakeshore.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Clouds increase, still warm. Low 63.

SUNDAY: Becoming mostly sunny, temps a few degrees lower but still warm. High 84—but low 70s beaches.

MONDAY: Mixed sun gives way to incoming clouds. Warm—but turning sharply cooler later in the day as winds shift north/northeast.  Chance of a shower or possible t-storm later in the day and possibly Monday night.  High 86—but falling back to the upper 50s to mid 60s, particularly along Lake Michigan by nightfall. 

TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy, fairly windy and noticeably cooler. High 72—but mid to upper 50s along Lake Michigan.

WEDNESDAY: Partly sunny, breezy and cool for the season. High 71—50s lakeshore.

THURSDAY and FRIDAY: A good deal of sunshine and much warmer. High Thursday 82.  Friday’s high 88.