In retrospect, the first day of spring, March 20, was an omen.
Wind chills plunged to zero and gale winds soared to 70 m.p.h., whipping up giant waves that forced Meigs Field to close and left portions of Lake Shore Drive grimy with sand.
Since then, Mother Nature has treated the city to a roller coaster ride–and it’s not over.
Last week at Wrigley Field, the boys of summer looked more like the Monsters of the Midway as they donned ski masks to cope with snow showers and wind chills of 12 degrees. Thursday, sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s graced the city, but winds of up to 40 m.p.h. helped fuel brush fires throughout the area that left several families homeless.
Thunderstorms rumbled through on Friday, and the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch. A Wheaton couple was shocked by lightning, and hail measuring up to an inch in diameter was reported in Schaumburg and the far south suburbs.
David Pugh, 45, and his wife, Kay, 43, were walking in the 1400 block of East Brentwood Lane in Wheaton when lightning struck a nearby tree, giving the couple a jolt as well, police said. The couple apparently was not seriously injured.
Though the wacky weather leaves some people reeling, weather forecasters shrug it off. “You have a few of these nice days to get your hopes up,” Art Kessler, a forecaster with the National Weather Service, said Friday. “(But) in April, it’s a tug of war.”
Chicago will stay true to form through the weekend. Saturday’s forecast calls for temperatures in the low to high 40s, with partly cloudy skies but no rain.
On Sunday, temperatures are expected to plunge to the upper 30s and mid-40s, with a chance of rain. There’s a chance of rain–and even snow–on Monday, and by Tuesday, it’s back to dry weather and warmer temperatures.
Two groups praying for rain are firefighters and farmers.
On Thursday, brush fires swept through Lake Zurich, Palos Park, Palos Heights, Orland Park, New Lenox, Rolling Meadows and Lemont. In Hopkins Park near Kankakee, a brush fire that swept across 1,000 acres destroyed 25 homes and trailers.
Kathy Boice, 44, of Hopkins Park, laughed Friday as flames crackled 50 yards away from her home. “I call this tradition,” she said, tossing a cigarette butt on the ground. “Brush fires happen twice a year here, and they never bother me.”
More than 100 firefighters had brought the fires under control by 5 a.m. Friday. No one was injured, but many people lost everything.
Hallie Smith, 79, and her husband, George, 82, left for the eye doctor Thursday afternoon and returned at 6 p.m. to find only the foundation of their home. They have no insurance and are now staying with friends.
Meanwhile, farmers gearing up for the planting season welcomed the weekend rains but worried that the dry spell that has gripped the state since January will continue.
“It’s way too dry, and it’s way too cold,” said Ron Frieders, 44, who farms 1,000 acres in Naperville. “It’s a big concern any time during the growing season to start out this way.”
More Top Picks Best Gps Dog Collar