With Wednesday's weather perhaps a taste of the season to come, it will officially be spring in less than a week as the vernal equinox approaches.
Although meteorological seasons are generally recognized as periods of three months beginning at the start of every third month, astronomical seasons are lined up with biannual equinoxes and solstices.
The first day of spring coincides with the vernal equinox, when daytime and nighttime hours are roughly equal, just as they are during the autumnal equinox in September, according to the Adler Planetarium.
This year's vernal equinox will occur on Monday, March 20 at 4:24 p.m., which will mark the astronomical beginning of spring.
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From the vernal equinox up until the summer solstice, daylight hours will increase as dark-sky hours decrease. The date of the summer solstice marks the day of the calendar year with the highest amount of daylight hours.
While Wednesday offered highs near 50 degrees and daytime conditions that felt like the season ahead, Chicago will have at least one more taste of winter coming up.
After rainfall and temperatures hovering near 50 degrees are expected for Thursday, Chicago is likely in for a cold weekend.
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Temperatures may not climb out of the 20s on Saturday, with highs on Sunday also likely falling below 40 degrees, according to the latest forecast models.
From there, temperatures will likely warm up back into the 40s by the start of next week, with rain and temperatures back in the 50s anticipated for the latter half of next week.
