Pre-Christmas storm to be a rainy one
Chicago temperatures rose into the middle and upper 50s during the early morning hours Sunday just before a cold frontal passage. O’Hare topped out at 54º while Midway reported a high of 57º—the fifth time this month that readings there have eclipsed the 50º mark. Just to the west, the 50º high at Rockford early Sunday tied the record high for the date, last reached in 1977. However, the 50s here were cool compared to Sunday’s highs in the 60s and 70s to the south. Some of the new record highs set included Louisville (70º), Springfield, Mo. (68º), and Beaumont, Texas (79°).
Though the 50s are gone here, the week ahead will still be mild for the season with highs in the upper 30s and lower 40s running well above the normals, currently in the lower 30s.
A storm system will bring rain—not snow—to the city later this week, and it’s beginning to look like Chicago will miss having a White Christmas for the third straight year.
--By Steve Kahn, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist