WGN Weather Center Blog

It was nasty Sunday in Chicago as heavy rainfall lashed the city, blown about by
northeast winds gusting to nearly 50 m.p.h. The greatest rain totals occurred from
the city westward, with Midway Airport recording 1.93 inches and Aurora measuring
2.05 inches. The rain let up by early afternoon, but strong northeast winds kept an
unseasonable chill in the air throughout the day. The sky is expected to clear
Monday, and with the return of sunshine, temperatures should climb into the lower
60s inland—though lake-chilled winds will keep shore areas in the 50s. It should be
even warmer Tuesday as south winds send the mercury into the lower 70s for the
first time in nearly a week.

A STEAMY MOTHER'S DAY IN FLORIDA

In contrast to Chicago's rainy chill, record heat gripped the Sunshine State. Record
highs were established in many areas, ranging from 93 at Pensacola to 96 at Miami
and Ft. Lauderdale.

TWISTERS STRIKE EASTERN CAROLINAS

Severe weather continued Sunday evening with tornado damage and injuries reported
in eastern North Carolina near Elizabeth City and Morehead City and in South Carolina
near Charleston.

--By Steve Kahn, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist

Posted by wgnweather at 10:37 PM | Permalink

Chilly, wind-driven rain is expected to pummel the Chicago area Sunday, forcing
Mother’s Day celebrations indoors.

More than an inch of rain is likely to fall in many locations in heavy downpours before
the rains diminish to light showers in the afternoon. High temperatures will struggle
to reach the lower 50s, and as strong northeast winds gust in excess of 40 m.p.h. in
the afternoon, readings should drop back into the 40s, making 2008 the coolest
Mother’s Day here since a 50-degree high back on May 12, 2002.

DEADLY TORNADOES SWARM SOUTHWEST MISSOURI

Numerous tornadoes struck southwest Missouri late Saturday. Early reports indicate
three were killed, with many injured and extensive damage. Towns hit included
Neosho, Newtonia and Seneca.

Posted by wgnweather at 8:05 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Saturday's sunny open isn't to last. Clouds marking the approach of a windy Mother's Day
storm expected to soak the area Sunday arrive as the day proceeds, but not before
Chicago temperatures reach the 60s away from the lakeshore. However, cooling east
winds are expected to restrict shoreline highs to the 50s.
LATE SHOWING OF BACK-TO-BACK 50s
The chill that has gripped the area since Thursday is more than a bit unusual by historic
standards. The 59- and 58-degree highs here Thursday and Friday are the first
back-to-back 50s to occur on a May 8 and 9 here in a quarter century. In addition, 80
years of weather records dating back to 1928 at Midway Airport indicate that fewer than a
third of mid-May highs fail to crack the 60-degree mark.
IT WAS WARM THIS TIME A YEAR AGO
By contrast, Chicago was in the midst of early-season warmth at this time last year.
Saturday's predicted 63 degrees falls 21 degrees short of the 84-degree high a year ago.
Interestingly, last year's first 90-degree day was to occur in only a week's time on May 14.
May 2007 ended up with 13 days of 80 degrees or higher.
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune

Posted by wgnweather at 1:33 AM | Permalink

Temperatures on Chicago's North Shore failed to break out of the 40s Thursday. Such
readings are more typical of late March than May. Wilmette topped out at just 48
degrees while Highland Park struggled to 49 degrees and Glencoe only made it to 50
degrees. Chicago's official 59-degree high at O'Hare International Airport was 8
degrees below normal and a far cry from an 82-degree high only a year earlier. It
marked the chilliest May 8 high here since the 51-degree high for the date 24 years
ago in 1984.

The cool weather continues Friday beneath increasing clouds and ahead of an
approaching disturbance that could spark a shower in spots late Friday.

LATEST SOAKER HITS DOWNSTATE

Unwelcome rains drenched the southern Midwest on Thursday. As much as 1.59
inches fell at Freeburg while 1.54 inches was measured at Flora—both east of St.
Louis in Downstate Illinois. The same storm spawned half a dozen twisters across
Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. Meantime, still another storm entering the
western Plains produced 68,000-foot-tall thunderstorms responsible for 70 m.p.h.
gusts at Lewis in southwest Kansas.

Posted by wgnweather at 10:21 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Two separate waves of heavy rain drenched the Chicago area Wednesday—the latter
embedded within an eye-catching, southbound shelf cloud. The ominous roll-
shaped, wind-tossed bank of clouds developed as winds shifted northeast tapping
chilly air to the north and sending temperatures into a 20-degree dive in less than
three hours. This month’s opening seven days had produced 2.04 inches of rain even
before Wednesday’s downpours arrived—the 11th wettest May opening of the last
138 years.

Area rain totals by day’s end were impressive and included: 1.34 inches in Wilmette,
1.17 inches in Palatine, 1.08 inches at Chicago’s Whitney Young High School and 1.05
inches at Mt. Prospect. In the city, 0.76 of an inch fell O’Hare International Airport
and 0.57 of an inch at Midway Airport. The “normal” full May rainfall tally is 3.38
inches.

SECOND STORM TARGETS AREAS
DOWNSTATE WITH A THURSDAY DELUGE
An unusually active pattern is taking shape—one likely to send a series of storms
across the Midwest over the coming two weeks. A powerful system, responsible for
Thursday’s gusty, cool northeast winds in Chicago wallops areas downstate with
downpours.

Posted by wgnweather at 9:50 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)