A nearly 30-degree temperature spike from Tuesday’s high to Wednesday’s may sound fantastic, but Chicagoans shouldn’t get too excited, forecasters with the National Weather Service warned.
Wednesday’s high will be a balmy 70 degrees — up from a high of 43 Tuesday — but that doesn’t mean Chicagoans will get to enjoy the warm weather. It’s expected to be accompanied by “a potent weather system” moving across the Midwest.
Meteorologists say Wednesday will be “an unsettled weather day across the region,” as they expect winds as strong as 40 mph and as much as 2 inches of rain in some parts of the metro area. Forecasters said the wind will be strong enough to down small tree limbs and they warned area residents of the possibility of some “ponding” on local roads due to the anticipated rainfall rate. Rivers also could rise as a result of the rain, according to the weather service.
Put simply, the weather service said: “Despite warm,” Wednesday will “not (be) a great day outside.”
“Despite this system providing a one-day warmup to near 70 degrees, it will also bring gusty winds, rain and possibly some strong to severe storms. Keep an eye on the forecast into Wednesday,” according to the weather service.
Heading into Thursday and the rest of the week, temperatures are expected to fall quickly. By Wednesday night temperatures should be back down around 40 degrees and Friday the high will be in the mid-40s. Thursday’s high is only expected to be about 42 degrees, meteorologists said.
“Thursday will see continued gusty winds and a chance for scattered rain or snow showers,” according to the weather service.
Friday should be sunny, but the high will be in the mid-40s, forecasters said. For more on the forecast visit the Tribune’s weather page.
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