Mild start to winter continues a trend — colder temperatures and potential snow system as the end of January approaches

THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOK FOR FEBRUARY CALLS FOR NEAR NORMAL TEMPS AND ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE CHICAGO AREA

CLIMATOLOGICAL WINTER RUNS FROM DECEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY

6th warmest start to a winter in Chicago in the past 50 years

Although the average monthly temperature for December in Chicago was 1.4 degrees below normal, the mild start to January has ranked the 12/1 to 1/20 period as the 6th warmest since the winter of 1973-1974

  • The period of 12/1/2022 to 1/20/2023 has been the 6th warmest such period in Chicago in the past 50 years
  • The 8 warmest 12/1 to 1/20 periods in Chicago over the past 50 years have occurred since 2007
  • Four of the warmest eight 12/1 to 1/20 periods of the past 50 years have occurred during the past four winter

Warmest December 1st to Jan. 20th periods in Chicago over the past 50 winters

TWO DAY PRECIPITATION TOTALS FROM CoCoRaHS OBSERVERS

Totals include precipitation recorded over the 48 hour period from Wednesday morning to Friday morning; Highest precip totals were recorded in Kankakee, Will and southern Cook counties

WINTRY WEATHER SYSTEM BEING MONITORED THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK—FAR TOO EARLY FOR SPECIFIC DETAILS BUT FOR AT LEAST PARTS OF THE MIDWEST, IT’S A WINTER SYSTEM TO FLAG AND MONITOR

Probability of 1”+ snow ending Thursday, January 26 at 12 AM CST

Probability of 4”+ snow ending Thursday, January 26 at 12 AM CST

Based on the lastest run of the European Ensemble Model — Ensemble model factors in a group of model runs viewed rather than cherry picking one individual model run

FULL-DAY TEMPERATURE DEPARTURES FROM NORMAL

Pattern change imminent — extended spell of colder than normal weather arrives later next week and promises to continue into early February

FORECAST NEXT SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2023

Arctic air arrives later next week as the mean jet stream flow buckles in from Canada

CLOUD COVER LIMITED THE TEMPERATURE CHANGE FROM MORNING TO LATE AFTERNOON

The normal maximum and minimum temperature at O’Hare Airport for January 20th are 31 and 18, a 13-degree daily variation

Maximum and minimum temperatures midnight to 4 PM Friday, January 20th

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