Even as the chance of the temperature hitting its highest so far this year went down Wednesday afternoon, forecasters warned the that danger of severe thunderstorms hitting more of the Chicago area overnight was increasing.
If it were to get to 81 degrees, it would be the warmest day of 2019, said Kevin Donofrio, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. But by early afternoon, the high temperature at O’Hare was forecast to hit only 78, even as the chance of severe weather was increasing, according to the weather service.
“After a quiet but breezy day, thunderstorms are expected to develop across the area this evening and overnight, moving from west to east,” according to the weather service.
Whether Wednesday ends up being the warmest day of 2019 is probably of less interest to many Chicagoans than another mini-milestone reached by early morning.
“This morning we’re already warmer right now than we were at any point” Tuesday, Donofrio said with a laugh. “We had a high of whopping 54 degrees yesterday and we’re at 55 degrees right now.”
Though this winter brought an onslaught of days with temperatures below zero, there already have been two days with a high of 80. The first was a month ago, on April 22, and it also was 80 degrees on Saturday.
“Spring is certainly a time of transition in Chicago, but we’re approaching more seasonable temperatures now. Usually we get more breaks than this, but we haven’t had many in 2019,” Donofrio said.
A high of 80 or greater wasn’t reached until May 1 last year. It was 86 degrees that day, Donofrio said.
The last time the city felt anything warmer than 80 degrees was on Oct. 9, when the temperature hit 85, he said.
Temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s were expected to continue until Monday, Memorial Day, which will be cooler than usual and top out in the mid- to high-60s.
While the chance of scattered showers and occasional thunderstorms will be nearly ever-present until then, the holiday weekend isn’t expected to bring a deluge.
“It’s not going to be a washout by any means, but we expect a chance of rain pretty much every day,” he said.
Check the Tribune’s weather page for updated forecasts.
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