Unseasonably cool for the rest of the workweek
Monday marked the second day temperatures failed to escape the 50s at Midway
Airport--something that has only happened this late in the season an average of one
year in five at the Southwest Side site since 1928. O'Hare's 60-degree high was a
little better. The month's opening 19 days ranks among the coolest 40 percent on
record with 13 of them posting deficits. The remainder of the work week is to remain
unseasonably cool as northwest winds keep resupplying the area with bursts of chilly
air off a stubborn pool of cool air draped across much of eastern Canada. A blocking
pattern in the arctic has locked that air mass in place for more than a month. But
potentially well-timed changes loom over the upcoming Memorial Day holiday
weekend. Eastbound warm air could push temperatures close to this year's highest
level to date by Memorial Day.
BLISTERING HEAT ON THE MOVE OUT WEST; DEATH VALLEY SIZZLES AT 120 DEGREES, PHOENIX AT 110 DEGREES
Even by Southwest desert standards, Monday's searing heat was one for the books.
Death Valley, Calif., sizzled at 120 degrees while residents of Phoenix were treated to
the year's first high of 110 degrees. Las Vegas wasn't far behind with a peak reading
of 108 degrees.