Meteorological summer begins after 11th warmest spring
Thunderstorms, some gusty with downpours, swept sections of the Chicago area Thursday afternoon. Rainfall reached 0.86” at north suburban Wilmette, 0.78” DeKalb, 0.67” southwest suburban Willow Springs and 0.52” at Midway Airport. The 0.01” recorded at the city’s official O’Hare rain guage underscored the huge spread in area totals. Unofficial wind gusts topped 40 m.p.h. in parts of the city.
Meteorological summer gets underway with June’s arrival Friday. The books closed Thursday night on the warmest spring here since 2000. The season finished 3.4° above the long term (137 year) average of 51.1°. The March through May period was the city’s 11th warmest since 1871.
Violent weather swept the Plains Thursday. The outbreak included six twisters in four states from Texas north to Nebraska. The Storm Prediction Center had logged 146 reports of severe weather by late Thursday.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist