Tuesday temps soar to second-warmest day of 2025 so far

Temperatures soared to unseasonably warm levels Tuesday afternoon following a cool and cloudy start to the day. The official high of 72 degrees is the second-warmest day of 2025 so far, a level 24-degrees above normal.

What’s more, only one other March 18^th in the past 55 years has been any warmer, and that was the record breaking high of 81 degrees in 2012.

Winds gusted to nearly 30 mph from the south ushering in the warm air along with the return of partial afternoon sunshine.

It was even warmer to south of Chicago where highs were nearly 30-degrees above normal. St. Louis soared to a July-level high of 84-degrees shattering the old record of 82-degrees for today’s date.

Tuesday’s quiet conditions will yield to much more active weather on Wednesday into Thursday, with a system expected to bring rain, high winds and snow to the Chicago area.

Of note: Tuesday is the 100-year anniversary of the nation’s deadliest tornado. Nearly 700 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured in the twister that touched down in southeastern Missouri and tore up everything in its 219-mile (352-kilometer) path for nearly four hours through southern Illinois and into Indiana.