The return of sunshine today and Friday will boost temperatures well above Wednesday’s sub-par 60-degree high.
That reading was the first below normal temperature of May, and it looks likely to be the last for a while, though a modest temperature downturn Saturday may include cooling northeast winds at area beaches.
May’s 61.8-degree average temperature through Wednesday at the official recording station at O’Hare International Airport is 6.1-degrees above normal. It’s the warmest May open here in 11 years and 8.8-degrees warmer than the same period a year ago. It places this month’s opening eight days as the 19th warmest of any May here since the official observation record began in 1871.
Afternoon temperatures today are likely to post a 9-degree increase over Wednesday’s peak reading of 60, and even warmer readings are expected Friday, buoyed by the arrival of strong southerly winds, generous sunshine and a bit of compressional warming likely to take place ahead of an approaching cool front.
Winds converge along fronts. This leads to compression of the air there — and compressing a gas leads to heating. It’s more than possible highs Friday could flirt with 80 degrees before the front sags south across the area, potentially provoking a shower or thunderstorm in several locations Friday night into Saturday night.
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