A colder but sunny Friday to be followed by a warmup for the weekend

The first eight days of February produced no measurable precipitation at O’Hare Airport. Thursday’s rain turned O’Hare’s February precipitation from a deficit to a surplus. The south side of Chicago and south and southwest suburbs saw precipitation totals exceeding one inch Thursday. The storm that produced rainfall for northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana brought significant snow from eastern Iowa into Wisconsin. Snowfall of up to seven inches was reported in Wisconsin.

Thursday’s rain system kept skies overcast, producing 0% of the possible sunshine for the day. The monthly sunshine stands at 62% of possible, above the February normal of 47%. Friday morning will start with clouds but the sun should return by afternoon with abundant sunshine expected for the weekend. Temperatures will be close to the normal of 34 Friday but a 10 degree warmup is expected for Saturday before afternoon highs approach 50 on Sunday.

Dry conditions are expected Friday through Monday before a rain event arrives Tuesday and continues into Wednesday. A second system has the potential to produce snowfall on Thursday when temperatures drop closer to normal in the 30s.