Chicago Forecast

Chicago Forecast: Frigid Wind Chills, Sunny Skies Expected Ahead of Looming Warm-Up

The Chicago River is dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Chicago. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The city of Chicago will hold its annual river dyeing and the St. Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday, but partygoers will need to bundle up, as wind chills are expected to remain frigid throughout the day.

While Saturday will begin on a sunny note, it will also begin on a chilly one, as temperatures in the city will start out in the single digits and the teens. Wind chills at 10 a.m., when boats will take to the Chicago River to dye the water green, will likely be around zero degrees, according to forecast models.

Things aren’t expected to improve much during the rest of the day. Wind chills will likely stay in the low-teens, with high temperatures well-below normal in the low-to-mid 20s across the area.

Clouds are expected to increase in the evening and overnight, with a quick disturbance potentially causing a bit of snow to fall overnight in the Chicago area. No accumulation is expected, and even if there were, it wouldn’t likely last for very long, because Sunday is shaping up to be the start of a warming trend in the region.

Highs Sunday will likely soar into the low-to-mid 50s, with gusty winds expected to wrap up the weekend.

Those high temperatures will remain in place for several days, and by Wednesday highs are expected to reach the low-to-mid 60s across the area.

The next chance for rain arrives in the forecast on Thursday, with highs once again expected to reach the 60s. By Friday things will cool off a bit, with highs in the upper-40s and low-50s across the area as the start of spring looms later this month.

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