Forecast: Partly cloudy and warmer with smoky skies

The weekend began with a few morning clouds, but they quickly diminished allowing for mostly sunny skies to emerge by afternoon.

It was a good deal cooler, especially along the lakefront, as cool, Canadian high pressure settled into the area with a north to northeast flow off Lake Michigan where water temperatures remain chilly. 

Highs Saturday were in the 60s for much of the metro area except far west and southwest suburban areas where peak readings reached the lower 70s.  

Skies will continue to be a bit hazy at times due to Canadian wildfire smoke being directed into the Chicago area. 

NOAA-GOES-19 satellite depicts the area of smoke in the lighter gray shading which nearly encompasses all of Minnesota and Iowa.

Dozens of large out-of-control wildfires continue burning across Canada.   

TONIGHT: Partly cloudy. Winds: ESE/S 5-10 mph. Low near 50.

TOMORROW: Partly cloudy and warmer with smoky skies. Winds: SSE/SSW 5-15 mph. High 73, cooler lakeside.

Plenty of sunshine is on tap for Sunday and a return to warmer temperatures, especially inland where highs make a run towards 80-degrees. 

Weekend high temperatures snapshot across the country

The weekend forecast looks quite hot across the West & Northern Plains. Record high temps are expected from Southern California to the Northern Rockies on Saturday. While across the East, a more spring-like temperature regime is in place with high temperatures in the Northeast 10-20 degrees below normal.

Chicago forecast highs and departures from normal

A cool start to the weekend across the Chicago area but it won’t last long as temperatures rebound quickly by Sunday with a return to summerlike warmth early next week.

Summerlike heat that’s been dominating the West sends a prod of warmth into the Midwest and Great Lakes early next week with highs 10-20 degrees above normal

Monday forecast highs

Monday departures from normal

Tuesday forecast highs

Tuesday departures from normal

Chicago precipitation chances

Dry weather takes hold for several days before the next chance of showers and thunderstorms arrives late Tuesday into Wednesday as a cold front slides through the area. 

The extended outlook calls for even warmer conditions on Monday and Tuesday as SSW winds drive temps to near 90 on both days.

Much muggier for Tuesday with possible late-evening showers and thunderstorms.

Wednesday looks pretty soggy with highs in the mid to upper 70s and a chance of isolated thunderstorms.

Tracking the arrival of several weather systems and multiple chances for rain next week

QPF (Quantitative Precipitation Forecast) for the next week

Some beneficial rainfall possible for the Chicago area with even heavier totals forecast across the south central Plains  

New Drought Monitor from USDA

A large portion of the Chicago metro area now sits in “moderate drought”. The area of moderate drought statewide grew from just over 17% a week ago to nearly 23% in the latest outlook.  

Statewide precipitation update

May-2025 has been quite dry for much of the state! Many areas have seen less than half of their normal rainfall with 2-4 inch deficits for the month pretty common.  

June’s warming trend