Chicagoans are anxious for some sun and warmth, especially after a moderately harsh winter, but it’s not to be. Wednesday’s sun was uplifting, but temperatures — held down by northeast winds off Lake Michigan — remained in the 60s in much of the area. Southern sections, less affected by lake cooling, warmed into the 70s. Chicago’s official high of 67 degrees was 9 degrees lower than usually chilly Anchorage, which basked in 76-degree air.
But things get worse Thursday, when a storm system sweeps across Illinois, and Chicago finds itself with clouds and rain, and even cooler temperatures.
Storms slam the Plains
Severe thunderstorms rumbled across a huge area of the Plains on Wednesday. As of 9 p.m., the Storm Prediction Center had logged 12 tornadoes in seven states: Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. A thunderstorm complex produced straight-line winds of 70 to 90 m.p.h. across large portions of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.
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Weather Report is prepared by the WGN-TV Weather Center, where Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN News at 11:30 a.m., 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
Weather updates: Search for forecasts by ZIP code and radar images at chicagotribune.com/weather or wgntv.com
