Chicago set a new daily heat record Monday and could do it again Tuesday — but the area’s brief return to summer conditions won’t last long.
A warm mass of air from the south moved over the upper Midwest during the holiday weekend, jacking temperature highs up into the mid-80s by Monday afternoon, National Weather Service meteorologist Jake Petr told Block Club.
As of 4 p.m. Monday, Chicago recorded a high temperature of 88 degrees, breaking the previous record for Oct. 12 of 84 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Monday was tied for the second warmest day for this point in fall since 1871.
“Warm air is surging farther north into the Great Lakes region early this week, and that’s allowing temperatures to reach well into the 80s,” Petr said. “It’s reaching well into Wisconsin and Michigan.”
The Oct. 12 record of 84 degrees is one of the “cooler records for this part of the month,” Petr said. Tuesday faces an Oct. 13 record high of 88 degrees, a temperature that some parts of the area could see, according to the National Weather Service. The warmest October day on record is Oct. 6, 1963, when it reached 94 degrees.
Tuesday night will see some thunderstorms with a small chance of hail, Petr said. The storms will move out of the area by Wednesday morning and usher in a cold front with cooler temperatures settling over the region, he added. By Wednesday night, temperatures will return to the mid-50s.
Showers will persist into Thursday afternoon with highs in the low 70s. Thursday night will see even colder temperatures in the high 40s, while Friday night could dip into the 30s, according to the weather service.
“It’s going to be ups and downs as far as temperatures go,” he said.
