After a weeks-long freeze, the Chicago area is seeing a warm-up this week, and Tuesday could well be the warmest day of 2021 so far.
According to current forecast models, high temperatures in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs are expected to crack 40 degrees on Tuesday, making it the warmest day of the year so far. Partly-to-mostly sunny skies are also expected, giving residents a nice gift after several weeks of sub-freezing temperatures.
According to Storm Team Meteorologist Paul Deanno, Feb. 23 is the latest the Chicago area has gone without a day in the 40s since at least 1979.
Things will likely stay the same through the rest of the week. Sporadic snow showers are possible in the evening hours Wednesday and Thursday, but highs are expected to remain in the upper-30s through the end of the work week, with even warmer temperatures possible over the weekend.
All of that warmth will likely do away with a lot of snow in the area, with more than three feet of snow falling within a three-week span in some locations.
Temperatures are expected to dip below freezing during the overnight hours, meaning that snow melt will briefly be slowed, according to forecasts.
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The warm-up comes after a prolonged period of cold weather that shattered records in the city. Chicago spent exactly 400 hours with temperatures below 32 degrees, starting at 8 p.m. on Feb. 4 and running through noon on Sunday, according to the NBC 5 Storm Team.
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