Unseasonably high temperatures sent Chicago-area residents flocking to parks, zoos and other outdoor areas to enjoy Friday’s sunshine. But heavy winds later in the day forced people back inside in more typical February fashion.
Temperatures rose into the lower 60s Friday afternoon, making the day the warmest of the year so far. It was the first time temperatures hit the 60-degree mark in February since 2009, when on Feb. 10 meteorologists recorded a 61-degree high, according to the National Weather Service.
While the high temperature fell just short of the record 65-degree high for Feb. 19 at O’Hare International Airport in 1930, it was plenty warm enough for Precious Cavin to take her 11-month-old baby and 3-year-old daughter to a Hyde Park playground, followed by a trip to an ice cream parlor.
The baby, Taren, gave her mother a sloppy wet smile as Cavin pushed her back and forth for her first swing ride — a rite of passage she assumed wouldn’t happen until June. Nearby, 3-year-old Peyton sat in an adjacent swing, stretching her legs as far out as she could.
“I didn’t think she expected to go to the park today,” Cavin said. “It was snowing three days ago. We went from singing ‘Frozen’s’ ‘Let it Go’ and ‘Do You Want to Build a Snowman’ to this. It’s such a pleasant surprise.”
Public works department officials across the state and Chicago area said that warmer weather in recent months has brought about another welcome side effect: a noticeable drop in potholes compared with recent years.
In January in Chicago, 40,262 potholes were repaired by the city’s Transportation Department, compared with 60,611 in 2015 and 94,307 in 2014. So far this month, 34,099 potholes have been filled compared with 70,613 in all of February 2015 and 106,852 in all of February 2014, according to city data.
Potholes are caused when moisture seeps into the pavement and then expands when it freezes, causing the asphalt to “pop.” Without an abundance of snowfall and low temperatures to cause such conditions, the city’s 23 patching crews have been able to keep up with potholes reported, said Randy Conner, first deputy commissioner for the department.
“With the weather being as warm as it is, we’ve been good,” Conner said. “We’ve been able to stay in front of the potholes and even catch some additional ones.”
The Illinois Department of Transportation has placed 1,728 tons of pothole patching material this year compared with last year’s 1,929 tons, according to Gianna Urgo, spokesman for the department.
In Naperville and Orland Park, city officials noted that the milder winter also helped lessen the response time to repair potholes while also helping to keep roads in good shape.
“It helps keep the integrity of the road system, and that’s a good thing,” said John Rutkowski, deputy director of public works for Naperville.
But as hardy Chicagoans know, good weather is always fleeting.
Late Friday afternoon, blustery winds forced many people back indoors.
Three buildings along Wacker Drive between Franklin and Jackson streets in Chicago were evacuated midafternoon because debris was “flying out” from a building under construction and blowing against the windows of the high-rises, fire officials said. Wacker was closed to traffic.
The debris — plywood, two-by-fours and plastic sheeting — came from a 54-story office building going up at 150 N. Riverside Plaza, fire officials said. Debris also came from a building at 434 W. Lake St., said Office of Emergency Management and Communications Executive Director Gary Schenkel.
A city worker was seriously hurt around 2:30 p.m. when a tree fell and hit his Streets and Sanitation vehicle at Archer and Western avenues in the Brighton Park neighborhood. The worker’s injuries were not life-threatening, Schenkel said.
Driving conditions grew hazardous as a collection of small debris, including leaves, fliers and plastic bags, blew onto people’s windshields. Drivers swerved around other light objects that blew onto roads and expressways. In one instance, winds carried a stray plastic beach ball down South Lake Shore Drive, which caused a quick backup as motorists slowed to avoid it.
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The weather caused a tree to lean over the Purple Line “L” tracks in north suburban Wilmette about 12:30 p.m., Chicago Transit Authority spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski said. Because of the unsafe conditions, power was shut down between the Linden stop, which is the end of the Purple Line, and the Central stop, which is one station south, she said. A bus shuttle was put in place, but normal operations resumed about 2 p.m.
Weather also caused delays on the Green and Pink lines.
Some flights at O’Hare were delayed from 20 minutes to an hour because of high winds, according to the city’s Department of Aviation. Nearly 85 flights were canceled, some because of the high winds at O’Hare.
Midway Airport did not have any issues due to the wind.
Families that had flocked to Lincoln Park Zoo to enjoy the warm conditions cut their trips short as winds picked up. Sue Sleman, whose daughter spent Friday in labor at a hospital, decided to take her granddaughter, 2-year-old Mia, to the zoo to help her pass the time before her sister’s birth. Sleman’s niece, Katie Mason, wrapped Mia in a blanket and carried her to shield her from the wind, which had caused Mia’s small ponytail to stick straight up.
“The wind actually knocked me off my feet,” Sleman said with a chuckle as she described how a forceful gust caused her to fall onto her hands and knees while walking to the zoo. She guessed areas closer to the lake were particularly windy, as the weather in Roscoe Village, where she’d been earlier, was calmer.
The family agreed to head back to the hospital because of the heavy gusts, but the weather didn’t bother Mia, who wanted to stay. She mouthed the word “pigs” repeatedly until Sleman and Mason obliged, and trudged against the wind toward the petting zoo, their hair blowing behind them.
baiduhai’s Geoff Ziezulewicz contributed.