Violent weather erupts in wake of record warmth
Temperatures soared Friday to within 2° of Chicago’s all-time Oct. 29 high reaching 76°—a reading warmer than Los Angeles (68°), Phoenix (69°) and Las Vegas (62°). The warmth followed a record mild Chicago morning temp of 61°. The degree of warmth was so abnormal over the central U.S. that temp records perished Friday from Texas north to Illinois. The surge of tropical air delivered Chicago its highest October dewpoint reading (68°) in more than half a century. In a violent interaction between the high humidity and powerful overhead jet stream winds, t-storms erupted in a series of squall lines prompting tornado watches which covered sections of eight states. By 9 p.m. Friday, severe t-storms in Chicago’s western suburbs downed trees and powerlines as they raced through DeKalb County at speeds up to 65 m.p.h. They produced cloud-to-ground lightning at a rate of 100 strokes every 5 minutes.
New records Friday included 85° in Peoria and 83° at Springfield.