Sunday forecast: Sunny and pleasant, warm early spring week ahead for Chicagoland

Well, enjoy it, because we’re heading into a gorgeous early spring week that will see temperatures soar into the 60s and possibly even approach 70 in some locations by Friday.

As for Sunday, as the clocks have sprung forward, the early-morning hours started chilly, with temps in the mid-30s around the area.

But it’ll be a dry, clear and sunny day, with high temps getting up to the mid- to upper 50s later.

Southwest winds will push Monday’s highs into the mid- to upper 60s, then northeast winds will cool things off a bit by Tuesday and Wednesday, especially along the lake. But it gets even warmer for the end of the coming week, peaking Friday, with high temps possibly approaching 70 at inland locations.

The jet stream for the coming week shows the warm air over Chicagoland early this week, followed by the slight midweek cooldown, then more warm air for the end of the week:

There’s a chance for showers and storms late Friday night in the early forecast for next weekend.

Current conditions

Looking ahead

The coming week will bring the warmest temperatures in more than four months!

Below is a forecast daily mean temperature anomaly, illustrating the area of above/below normal temperatures. Red and orange colors depict areas of above normal temperatures, and the blue colors represent areas of below normal temperatures:

As you can see, the red and orange colors over Chicagoland are reflected in the 7-day forecast into next weekend: