Wednesday forecast: Mostly sunny, with cool and comfortable fall-like temps in Chicagoland

Wednesday is bringing the coolest temperatures in months around Chicagoland, but they’re pretty much in line with normal for early October.

Early-morning temps were much cooler than they were at the same time Tuesday, with Joliet dropping 20 degrees and Kankakee dropping 22 degrees from about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday to 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Temps will warm into the low to mid-60s around Chicagoland by Wednesday afternoon, with the warmest areas to the south and west, under mostly sunny skies.

The predicted high of 64 in Chicago would make Wednesday the coolest day in the city since May 31, when the high also reached 64.

And while those temps are much cooler than the summer-like temps we’ve seen around Chicagoland lately, they’re just about normal for this time of year, maybe just a touch cooler. The normal high for Oct. 8 is 67.

This weather that’s much more typical of October arrives behind a secondary cold front and Canadian-sourced high pressure positioned across central Wisconsin.

Wednesday: Day planner temperature forecast

Temperatures open the day close to 50 and only warm into the lower or perhaps middle 60s during the afternoon.

Wednesday winds

Northeast winds off Lake Michigan will average 10 to 15 mph.   

Wrigley Field first-pitch forecast: Game 3 of the NLDS

Partly to mostly sunny skies are expected for the 4:08 p.m. first pitch Wednesday at Wrigley Field, with winds blowing straight in from center field at 10 to 15 mph and temperatures in the lower 60s.   

A rare, below normal day is ahead Wednesday before temperatures slowly moderate heading toward the weekend.

Chicago forecast highs and departure from normal

Medium-range forecast: 10-day height anomaly

Central U.S. ridging (and warmth) is the overall story during the next 10 days, while the Western U.S. deals with cool/cold troughing from Canada.  

Forecast average temperature anomaly: Oct. 7-13

Cooler, slightly below normal air across the Great Lakes, Eastern U.S. and Mid-Atlantic. More significant temperature deficit across portions of California. 

Forecast average temperature anomaly: Oct. 14-20

Significant warmth (relative to normal) taking shape across the Central U.S.   

Forecast 7-day rainfall through Tuesday, Oct. 14

No repeat of the Monday night/Tuesday soaking rainfall by all indications. Instead, light rain amounts are likely, with the next disturbance set to arrive across the Chicago area and Great Lakes late this weekend or early next week.  

Snowfall forecast: Through Oct. 27

Little or nothing expected east of the Rockies, but significant mountain snows are likely into the final 10 days of October — right on schedule with climatology.   

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