Chicago Breaks Temperature Record For Third Consecutive Day
CHICAGO (CBS) -- For the third consecutive day, Chicago broke a record for warm temperatures.
Friday marked the first day of record breaking temperatures, when the temperature at O'Hare International Airport hit 61 degrees shortly after noon. The old Feb 17 record was 60 degrees set in 1880, according to the National Weather Service. The temperature continued to raise throughout the afternoon. On Saturday, Chicago broke a 36-year-old record. The Feb. 18 record was 62 degrees in 1981 and this year temperatures at O'Hare reached 63 degrees in the late morning.
For the third day in a row, Chicago broke record on Sunday. According to the National Weather Service, the temperature at O'Hare reached 66 degrees, breaking the previous Feb. 19 record high of 65 set in 1930.
Saturday marked a day where the temperature made history twice. The temperature on Saturday reached 70 degrees, not only breaking the high for the day, but also marking the fourth time since 1871 Chicago has reached 70 degrees in February.
Temperatures should be close to records every day at least through Monday, according to the latest forecasts.
CBS 2's Meteorologist Ed Curran reported Monday's high is expected to be around 63, compared to the Feb. 20 record of 64 set in 1930, so the pattern of breaking records in the next few days is a high possibility. Tuesdays expected high will be around 64 and Wednesday is expected to reach 65 degrees.
Meantime, Chicago has gone more than two months without a one-inch snowfall. The last time the city saw an inch of snow in one day was Dec. 17, 2016. In fact, Chicago has had only six-tenths of an inch of snow for all of astronomical winter.
The current 64-day snow drought is sure to last at least through the next week, with temperatures not expected to dip below freezing again until Feb. 25. The longest Chicago has gone without a one-inch snowfall is 66 days, in winter of 1921-22, so that record is almost certain to go down unless there's a dramatic shift in the forecast soon.
