Bracing winds swept through Chicago Thursday morning, thrusting wind chill values into subzero territory, with the CBS Chicago report noting a chilling range from 5 to 15 degrees below zero. The bitter cold did not keep its grip for long; although the morning saw single-digit "feels like" temperatures, the winds, still gusty, began to relent as the evening approached, transitioning toward more temperate conditions.
The city's inhabitants, bundled in layers against the cold, experienced a gradual improvement, with the National Weather Service forecasting a mostly sunny high near 28 degrees. However, factor in the brute force of a northwest wind of 15 to 20 mph gusting as high as 35 mph and the sensation is one of an unyielding winter's grasp, the chill deepens to as low as minus 6. Despite this, the promise of calmer Friday night skies is on the horizon, with the wind expected to ease somewhat down to 5 to 10 mph, according to data pulled from the National Weather Service (forecast.weather.gov).
Chicago's weather narrative is forecasted to offer a respite after Thursday's chill embracing warmth conducive to outdoor ventures; Friday's sun is anticipated to escort temperatures upward to a more comfortable high around 31, per the National Weather Service.
The reprieve extends into the weekend, citizens can anticipate milder temperatures that usher in, with Saturday's mercury primed to hit near 40, and by Sunday, the city's thaw culminates in a pleasant high near 50 degrees; the sense of spring prematurely arriving to break the frost-bound chains of early December, rain likely under the cloak of Sunday night's sky, nevertheless, the warmth persists into the week. Monday also proposes a chance for rain with mostly cloudy skies and highs hovering around the half-century mark, as CBS Chicago predicts.
