Rather than reveling in the springlike weather Sunday, Mike Pacholski was disappointed as he pulled on his hula skirt and tied his bikini top.
Pacholski, 31, hoped temperatures would be much colder for the fourth annual Chicago Polar Plunge into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan.
Pacholski has participated in the event benefiting Special Olympics Chicago for the last two years. This year, he recruited 10 friends and relatives–all wearing skimpy clothing with a tropical theme–to make the chilly leap into the 36-degree water.
“I was bummed out because I got all these guys to come here, and it was too warm,” the Chicago resident said.
Winds and temperatures originating from the Gulf of Mexico brought the Chicago area a respite from winter over the weekend. Sunday’s highs were 60 degrees along the lakefront, 61 in Romeoville, 57 in Rockford and 61 at O’Hare International Airport, National Weather Service meteorologist Christine Krause said.
“It’s our first nice taste of spring,” said Robin Smith, another Weather Service meteorologist.
But the warm weather will be short-lived as winds from the north return Monday evening, Smith said. High temperatures will revert to the upper 30s and lower 40s, and spring weather won’t revisit until mid-March, he said.
Aside from the Polar Plungers, Chicago-area residents enjoyed every bit of the warmth over the weekend, heading to the lakeshore in droves.
Joe DeLucia, 30, dug out a pair of shorts from the bottom of a drawer and walked along the lake.
“We’re out of the house,” he said. “This is wonderful.”
Sonja Utter, 30, of Niles and her daughter, Krysta, 6, meandered through Lincoln Park Zoo wearing sunglasses. Krysta soon shed her winter jacket.
“It’s a struggle to keep her clothes on,” Utter said. “The weather’s nice but not that nice.”
Priya Dwarakanath, 19, a freshman at DePaul University, studied outside on a campus bench in a T-shirt and flip-flops.
“[Flip-flops] take less time to put on,” she said.
