Warm Pattern Becoming Firmly Established And Has Chicago Headed For Its Warmest Weekend Of The Year—it’s To Average 21° Warmer Than Last Weekend & Beat The Previous Warmest Weekend Of 2023 By Nearly 17°

FINALLY!! Dramatically warmer weather is sweeping over the area–and modeling has even backed off on the intensity and degree of inland penetration of cooling lake breezes in coming days! Talk about a WIN-WIN!! To be sure, there WILL be some lakeside cooling in coming days-—it just won’t reach as far inland as predicted earlier.

Warmest Weekend of the Year Yet

This weekend is to be the warmest of the year to date—likely to come in 21-degrees warmer than last weekend. I’m expecting this weekend to average 69-degrees up from last weekend’s chilly 48° average. If the 69° average verifies, it will come in nearly 17 degrees warmer than our previous warmest weekend of 2023 which averaged 52° April 8-9.

ONE WORD OF CAUTION—There are some indications a front could oscillate north and south across the area in the Tuesday through Thursday time frame next week. Presumably, shower and t-storm clusters would accompany it at times. Their rain-cooled outflows could impact temps in ways hard to pin down at this distance in time. Also, the wind-shift which would accompany a frontal passage could bring cool air off the lake and play with the warm temps for a time. But it does appear warmth would resurge later in the coming week.

Meteorological Developments Over Canada Are To Block Any Large Scale New Push Of Cool Air

An atmospheric blocking pattern, predicted to develop over Canada next week, is likely to position MUCH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS for the time of year there— which would preclude any threat of a major cool air push into the Midwest.

BOTTOM LINE, IT REALLY DOES APPEAR WE’RE HEADING INTO A WARMER SPRING WEATHER PATTERN! Cool spells aren’t yet over—but they sure seem to be out of the picture in coming days.

HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND

After NEAR OR BELOW NORMAL TEMPS here in Chicago 16 of the past 19 days, the warming will be VERY noticeable and quite welcome indeed. Over coming days across most of the Chicago, area are to surge well into the 70s—and even flirt with 80-degrees. This marks the most significant warming here in nearly 3 weeks—that’s going back to the warm spell in mid April which included four 80°+ highs. Add to this warm-up a predicted northward surge of MORE HUMID 60° DEW POINT AIR from the Gulf of Mexico, which is to reach the area late Saturday then hold into Monday, and the air will take on that awesome SPRING FEEL so many of us relish after a long winter and the temp fluctuations of previous months.

IN TERMS OF WARM WEATHER, WE’RE ALREADY RUNNING AHEAD OF THE CURVE—CERTAINLY AHEAD OF THIS TIME A YEAR AGO

We’ve logged nine days in the 70s (today/Thursday was the 9th) and 4 days of 80s. Only four 70s and one 80 had occurred by this time a year ago.

THE WARMING DOES BRING A SHOWER & T-STORM THREAT

The first of what could be spells of showers and t-storms across a series of days is to arrive over sections of the area Saturday night and Sunday. Adding moisture to warm air adds to its warm feel—and nature will do that sending 60° dew points our way by late Saturday—continuing Sunday into Monday. Of course, with moisture levels rising, so too will the prospect of shower and t-storm clusters which may first arrive on the scene Saturday night, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  But they appear likely to come and go with 30 to 50% coverage currently indicated. 

SLIDESHOW: CHECK OUT THE ACCOMPANYING GRAPHICS BELOW which expand upon the COMING CHANGES!