Friday almanac: Temps again flirt with 90s before rare meteorological phenomenon

NOTE: This article is now an almanac of Friday’s weather. We have published a new forecast story for Saturday.

It was another very warm day across the Chicago area as temperatures flirted with 90 degrees for a second consecutive day despite being about 6 degrees cooler than Thursday.  

But in a rare meteorological twist, a dust storm that originated in Central Illinois moved north into the Chicago area as a gusty southwest wind pushed the wall of dust northward. 

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Peak wind gusts reached 50-60 mph and combined with the warm temperatures and remarkably dry conditions to provide the perfect breeding ground for dust.

The latest Drought Monitor from USDA indicated the entire metro area is abnormally dry. 

Rainfall so far this month is only at 14% of normal and currently ranks as the 3^rd driest since observations began at O’Hare Field since 1959.

Only 1992 and 1994 have been any drier with 0.00” and 0.27” respectively.