Starting Friday, Chicago is set to see the temperature plunge more than 30 degrees over a 24-hour period, and the cold may be here to stay.
National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Friedlein said Chicagoans should expect a sustained period of cold “early winter” weather that could last to the week of Thanksgiving.
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In the week leading up to Veterans Day, temperatures were unseasonably warm, about 25 degrees higher than normal for early autumn. Thursday brought a record high temperature for Nov. 10 in Chicago, reaching 76 degrees. The previous record, set in 2020, was 75 degrees. Normally at this point in November, high temperatures range in the 50s, Friedlein said.
But starting Friday, the temperature will drop to levels usually seen in December. The temperature was in the low 40s in Chicago Friday morning, and Friedlein expects it to gradually fall into the afternoon. For at least the next five days, the area will see afternoon highs in the 30s. This will mark the first sustained period of cold weather seen this fall, Friedlein said.
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“For Chicagoans, it’ll certainly feel much colder, because we swung from well above normal to well below normal,” Friedlein said.
The incoming cold weather also brings chances for flurries, Friedlein said. Saturday could bring snow showers, while a weather system set to develop late next Tuesday could lead to some accumulation. Chicago’s first official snow of the season was recorded at O’Hare Airport on Oct. 17.
Weather pattern shifts are common in spring and fall, especially during a period of La Niña, when the Pacific waters are cooler than usual, Friedlein said. La Niña conditions are expected to continue through the rest of the year.
Friedlein said the cold weather is a reminder to prepare for Chicago winter. This week is Winter Weather Preparedness Week in Illinois and Indiana.
“It’s time to think about that across Chicago, how you prepare your home, how you prepare your car, in case of emergency what you do — just getting things ready,” Friedlein said.
