Chicago climate report: Lack of rain puts Chicagoland in drought territory

CHICAGO (WGN) — Chicagoland on Monday enjoyed some summer-like warmth to start the workweek, making it up to 80 degrees or warmer for the second time this year at O’Hare International Airport and the fourth at Midway International Airport.

Typical high temperatures for this time of year are getting close to 70 and average low is almost to 50 degrees.

So far this month, we’ve only seen two days with measurable rainfall. May is typically our soggiest month of the year. We’re about an inch and a half behind where we should be almost halfway into the month.

The lack of rainfall has pushed many of us around Chicagoland back into some form of drought condition. The latest USDA Drought Outlook that’s released weekly on Thursdays has most of us in “abnormally dry” which is the lowest drought level and some spots with “moderate drought” towards the NW corner of Illinois. Much more significant drought conditions persist this planting season on the Great Plains just to our west.

Water temperatures continue to gradually climb and more Great Lakes buoys are coming back online for the warm season. The coldest areas still have water temps in the 30s, which is why some areas see such dramatic cooling when the winds blow off the chilly lake water. At least along the Chicago shore, we’re seeing temps consistently in the 50s. Water takes longer to both heat up and cool down, so we have many more weeks of the “cooler by the lake” season.

With temps getting close to 90 degrees on Thursday, the water remains cold. So, use extra caution if you’re trying to beat the heat by dipping into the lake. Cold Water Shock can kill even the strongest of swimmers and Cold Water Fatigue can sap your energy very quickly in water this cold.

This is now the prime season to see such warm air temperatures. We usually see our first day of 85 or warmer by the 8th of May.

In the most recent allergy report, we’re seeing High levels of grass and tree pollen. May is typically when tree pollen eases and grass pollen really starts to take off.

And while we’re warm this week, the trend is actually cooler for the following few weeks. Below average temps are looking more likely in the outlook going out to the 22nd.