The rain has started and the current temperature is 69°F, so it looks like that string of days above 80°F is broken.
But we had FIVE of them. It was 82°F both Friday and Saturday. That’s the average high around here in August. Prior to this heat spell, there were only ten March days with highs in the 80s for Chicago, going back to 1871. Last year this time we had temperatures in the 50s!
The National Weather Service says: “Chicago and Rockford have now both broken high temperature records 5 days in a row. There is even the potential they could tie or break record highs for up to an unbelievable 8 days in a row depending on how warm temperatures get Monday through Wednesday. It is extraordinarily rare for climate locations with 100+ year long periods of records to break records day after day after day.”
The jet stream pattern that’s been in place for a while now, a deep, narrow bulge that heads south down the California coast then back north through the central plains (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas) and on into Canada is bringing us this warm weather. That pattern is enhanced by the La Niña event in the Pacific, which is starting to weaken but still exerts a considerable effect.
Predictions are for us to reach at least 80°F for the remainder of the week, so the heat will linger on for a bit. I didn't find any predictions for when the current jet stream pattern will shift, but none of the models are truly reliable more than a week out.
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