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The Eric Factor: There’s no balance around here these days, only warming

It’s safe to say you haven’t ever seen weather like this. On Monday, the temperature reached 91 degrees which tied a previous record set in 1920. On...

It's safe to say you haven't ever seen weather like this.

On Monday, the temperature reached 91 degrees which tied a previous record set in 1920. On Sunday, the temperature reached 91 degrees which tied a precious record set in 2007. On Saturday, the temperature reached 94 degrees which set a new record. On Wednesday, the temperature reached 94 degrees which set a new record.

And we aren't alone. According to the National Weather Service Chicago, "This is the latest stretch of five consecutive 90° days in Chicago on record."

The Eric Factor: There’s no balance around here these days, only warming

We aren't immune to hot spells. But what makes this one different is there's no balance with colder air. Sure, our weather will turn cooler in the coming days with 72-75 degree high temperatures. But that is still warmer than typical late-September weather. In order to offset the unprecedented hot weather, we would need many days of 50-degree high temperatures. And that's just not going to happen.

And looking into next week, it appears we will be even more above-normal...possibly on the order of 10-20 degrees again. That would put us back into the 80s.

The Eric Factor: There’s no balance around here these days, only warming

Climatologically speaking, this fits into the pattern of warming that we have seen for many years. We have seen many more record high temperatures than record lows. According to research, breaking record highs is expected to continue to be more frequent.

As far as the weather pattern into the first week of October, get ready for more mild air. Southerly winds will develop on Sunday with temperatures rising back into the lower 80s early next week...temperatures 15 to 20 degrees above normal!

Final thought, it's certainly possible that the balance will happen later into the Fall and Winter seasons. We are entering a La Nina pattern which can signal more snow and additional cold shots of air. But that is still at least a month or two down the road. Stay tuned!

-Meteorologist Eric Sorensen

The Eric Factor: There’s no balance around here these days, only warming

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