Chicago Weather Forecast: Good-Bye Deep Freeze, Hello Warm Weekend
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The oppressive cold is loosening its icy grip on Chicago, and the city is in store for much warmer temperatures this weekend.
Around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, Chicago ended a 52-hour stretch of temperatures below zero, the fourth longest such deep freeze ever recorded in Chicago, and 15 hours longer than the city's last extended deep freeze in 2014.
As the frigid conditions were moving out, a new round of snow moved through overnight, bringing 1 to 3 inches to the Chicago area.
That won't stick around for long, with temperatures rising well above freezing this weekend.
After enduring 52 consecutive hours of temperatures below zero, the city could see an even longer stretch of temperatures above freezing starting Saturday morning.
Temperatures could get up to 40° by Saturday, to 45° on Sunday, and soar to 53° on Monday before falling back below freezing Monday night or Tuesday morning.
Monday's high would be a 76-degree shift in temperatures from the low of -23° that Chicago saw on Wednesday.
Rain will come with that weekend warmup, and help melt all the snow that has covered the ground this past week.
Temperatures will then fall again after Monday, dropping down to daytime highs in the 20s by Thursday.
