The Chicago area is about to experience a rapid change in weather-related fortunes in coming days, as high temperatures will skyrocket out of their Arctic doldrums and into above-average territory.
On Friday, the city recorded a low temperature of minus-8 degrees at O’Hare International Airport, according to the National Weather Service.
That stands in stark contrast to where the forecast is headed. According to current models, the high temperature on Thursday could potentially reach 52 degrees, which would represent a 60-degree swing in temperatures within just a six-day span.
While that is certainly up there among the biggest temperature swings in the city’s recorded history, it would not be the biggest, at least over a six-day span.
According to the National Weather Service, that mark belongs to a stretch between Jan. 18-24, 1967. During that week, temperatures warmed from minus-10 degrees to 65 degrees above zero in just six days, for a swing of 75 degrees.
While the city will not see that kind of dramatic change, residents will undoubtedly hope to avoid what immediately followed that 1967 warmup. Weather history buffs will recognize that just two days later, on Jan. 26, the city was hit with the largest blizzard on record, with 23 inches of snow falling and 50 mile-per-hour wind gusts causing massive drafts and stranding thousands of residents on area roadways.
In all, 26 people died in the city during that storm, and dozens more died in the surrounding suburbs.
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This time around, the warmup will be accompanied by showers for several days, with the bulk of the system expected to impact the region on Saturday. Rain will remain in the forecast into the new year, with temperatures sticking around the low-to-mid 40s, according to extended forecast models.
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