Long-time Chicagoans know the city's "spring" tends to get eliminated from the traditional progression of seasons, with a sudden jump from cold to warmth.
This year has been especially brutal, with the start of April setting a record for the coldest first 17 days of the month in 137 years and the second coldest on record.
The next 10 days, though, give us hope that spring still exists and summer hasn't forsaken us.
It begins with a rollercoaster of seasonable temperatures ranging from Wednesday's predicted high of 53 degrees and Saturday's high of 66 to highs next week in the mid- to upper-70s.
Wednesday's forecast starts mostly sunny, breezy and chilly in the morning, then less windy in the afternoon with highs in the upper 40s along the lakefront and low-to-mid 50s inland.
On Thursday mostly sunny skies give way to more clouds in the afternoon and milder temps that could reach the low-to-mid 60s.
Showers will likely develop overnight into Friday morning and early afternoon. Clouds are expected to break in the afternoon for high temps in the low to mid-50s.
Saturday looks partly to mostly sunny and seasonable. Highs are expected to top out in the mid-60s, cooler along the lakefront.
Sunday eases us into early summer-mode thanks to potential highs in the upper 60s to low 70s, possibly cooler along the lakefront.
Looking ahead to Monday, temps look mostly to partly sunny, windy and warmer with -- drumroll -- highs in the mid-to-upper 70s.
