Snow Flurries Dust Chicago Area; Temps Hit Coldest Since April
Updated 11/10/11 - 3:44 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Patches of snow flurries hit the Chicago area on Thursday, while temperatures reached their coldest levels since April.
The high temperature as of mid-afternoon was a mere 39 degrees – a figure that seems more befitting of late December than early November.
Patches of flurries moved through the city and northwest Indiana Thursday afternoon, though the snow will not accumulate to any measurable degree.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Dave Berner reports
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The last time it was as cold as is forecast for Thursday was on April 19, when the high was 38 degrees.
As of just before 7 a.m., the temperature was hovering at the freezing mark in many areas, including Aurora, Joliet, Kankakee and Valparaiso. At O'Hare International Airport, it was only 1 degree better at 33.
But the wind chill made conditions even worse, coming in at 25 at O'Hare, and a mere 23 at Valparaiso.
In the early morning hours, snow was falling in McHenry County, and was headed southeast to Palatine, Waukegan and Lake Bluff. Isolated flurries were also seen in downtown Chicago around 8 a.m.
O'Hare recorded its first snow of the season on Wednesday.
As WBBM Newsradio's Dave Berner reports, customers were lining up for hot coffee this chilly Thursday morning at a Starbucks on 75th Street in Naperville.
Customers said the first snowfall is significant.
"It means I can't do my work. I'm a roofer, so we're trying to decide whether to do work today or not," one man said.
But he wasn't totally disappointed.
"I love the snow," he said. "I ski, so I wish it snowed more."
Some areas were hit far harder. Eastern Iowa got more than 1.5 inches of snow Wednesday, and Galena got nearly 2 inches.
But the good news is that while it may seem like winter right now, we'll return to fall climes before too long.
The low drops to 29 Thursday night, but the high climbs to 49 on Friday, followed by 57 on Saturday, 59 on Sunday, and a balmy 60 on Monday.
