After the Chicago area saw an unseasonably warm December, with high temperatures shattering local records, the winter cold could set in next week.
Not only did Chicagoans not see a white Christmas on Saturday, but temperatures also rose into the 40s and 50s during the day.
The warmth is expected to stay for a few days with highs expected in the mid-to-upper 40s on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, according to the latest weather models.
On Wednesday, temperatures will likely drop slightly into the upper 30s before staying in the upper 20s and low 30s for the remainder of the week, which is typical for this time of year.
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December has been an unseasonably warm month overall for the Chicago area, with some temperatures breaking record highs last week.
According to the National Weather Service, the most remarkable temperature on Dec. 15 was recorded at Rockford Airport, where the mercury soared to 69 degrees.
Local
That reading not only set the daily record for Dec. 15, but also tied the warmest temperature ever recorded in the month of December at the airport, with the high matching one recorded on Dec. 3, 2012.
The city of Chicago also broke its record for daily high temperature on Dec. 15, as a reading of 65 degrees was recorded at O’Hare International Airport. While it isn’t the city’s official reporting site, Midway Airport also recorded a record temperature, with the high temperature hitting 66 degrees.
Other records were set in Waukegan on Dec. 15, where a high of 66 degrees was recorded, and in Wheeling, where a 66-degree reading was recorded at the Chicago Executive Airport.
On the same day a record high of 65 degrees was reported at DuPage Airport in West Chicago, while Aurora Airport in Sugar Grove also reported a record high of 66 degrees.
At the National Weather Service office in Romeoville, a record high of 63 degrees was recorded, and northwest Indiana also got in on the act, with a record high of 62 degrees recorded at Valparaiso Airport.
Here are some other high temperatures from around the area in mid-December (new daily records marked with an asterisk):
Chicago (Midway): 66 degrees*
Chicago (Northerly Island): 63 degrees
Chicago (O’Hare): 65 degrees*
DeKalb Airport: 64 degrees
Joliet Airport: 65 degrees
Kankakee Airport: 63 degrees
Lansing Airport: 62 degrees
Morris Airport: 65 degrees
Peru Airport: 67 degrees
Pontiac Airport: 65 degrees
Rochelle Airport: 65 degrees
Rockford Airport: 69 degrees*
Romeoville: 63 degrees*
Schaumburg: 64 degrees
Sugar Grove (Aurora Airport): 66 degrees*
Waukegan Airport: 66 degrees*
West Chicago (DuPage Airport): 65 degrees*
Wheeling (Chicago Executive Airport): 66 degrees*
Wilmington: 64 degrees
