Jan. 10--While the Chicago area has been experiencing a relatively mild winter season so far, all good things must end. By midweek, temperatures will hit the single digits, with subzero wind chill numbers, according to the National Weather Service.
The highest temperatures were reported about midnight Saturday, when the mercury rose to about 23 degrees at O'Hare International Airport, according to Mike Bardou, a meteorologist with the weather service.
"This is typical of what we should expect this year," Bardou said. "This winter we haven't been terribly cold."
About 1 p.m. Sunday, temperatures hit almost 15 degrees in the Chicago area, but those temperatures are expected to drop to about 5 or 6 degrees overnight, Bardou said. Come daybreak Monday, those numbers are expected to continue dropping to about 4 degrees.
But a brief temperature rebound is expected about noon Monday, when the temperatures could hit a balmy 20 to 24 degrees, according to the weather service.
A cold front coming in from Canada is expected to push down those numbers beginning overnight Monday, and by Wednesday morning temperatures between 2 and 5 degrees are expected, according to the forecast. Winds will push the mercury down to 10 to 14 degrees below zero, officials said.
But by the end of the week, temperatures could again rebound and reach the mid-30s, according to the forecast.
The weather service earlier canceled a weather advisory for the Chicago area on Saturday that called for 3 to 6 inches of snow overnight. Instead, only 1.7 inches was reported at O'Hare, forecasters said.
The cold front may bring a light cover of snow into the area Monday night, leaving 1 to 2 inches in the area.
"It hasn't been too bad, that's for sure," Bardou said.
