Wednesday forecast: A windy day on tap for Chicagoland, along with sunshine and mild temps for early November

Mild and breezy conditions will continue across Chicagoland on Wednesday, with temperatures looking to remain seasonably mild through the end of the work week.

Then, the coming weekend will bring a brisk November chill to the air (see more below).

As for Wednesday, highs will reach the upper 50s to lower 60s, with winds out of the north/northwest gusting up to about 35 miles per hour.

The day opens with a fair amount of cloud cover across Chicagoland, as a cold front slides through the area.

But the front will not produce any precipitation, as the atmosphere will be too dry. Then expect skies to clear rapidly late Wednesday morning, with mostly sunny skies taking hold by lunchtime until sunset.

Clear conditions are expected overnight, with lows dropping into the mid- to upper 30s, before Thursday brings increasing clouds and highs in the mid- to upper 50s, with more breezy conditions, though not as windy as Wednesday.

Showers are then expected to arrive in the area late Thursday night and lingering into early Friday morning.

Wednesday: Day planner 

Wednesday opens rather mild, with temps in the lower end of the 50s, then highs top out close to 60 before falling to near 50 by early evening.   

Wednesday: Wind gusts

The cold frontal passage will also include some gusty west to northwest winds, which may top 30 mph in many locations.  

Forecast animation tracking multiple rounds of precipitation

A far more active pattern includes two wet weather systems set to impact the metro area later this week and weekend.  The first arrives late Thursday night into Friday morning.  The second arrives later Saturday with a chilly rain that could mix with some wet snowflakes late at night and into Sunday. Then the potential exists for some lake effect snow showers for the Illinois/Indiana border gradually shifting into northwest Indiana.  

Total Quantitative Precipitation Forecast through November 11

Some impressive totals overall from the various weather systems passing through the metro area. Not bad news for an area currently in drought.  

500 millibar height anomaly forecast next 10-days

Tracking the advancement of an impressive trough that dips down out of Canada which loops over Hudson Bay, and then dives south into the Lower 48 into the Great Lakes and Northeast while intensifying dramatically. 

Low temperature animation next 8-days

Tracking the coldest air of the season! You can see on this animation how the teens and 20s sweep across the Eastern U.S. with even freezing temperatures reaching portion of the Gulf coast. 

High temperature animation next 8-days

The mild 60s and 70s are whisked away by the early season arctic chill that grips much of the Eastern U.S. with the chilly temperatures even reaching portions of Florida. 

Forecast mean average temperature anomaly: November 4 through 10

Warmth dominates the west — while the first Arctic blast of the season brings the temperature anomaly below normal across the Midwest and Great Lakes despite some mild temperatures the next few days.

Forecast mean average temperature anomaly: November 11 through 17

Significant warming trend across the Western U.S. with 9°F above normal anomaly in the Week 2 ensemble mean west of the Mississippi River. Colder than normal up and down the East Coast with sub-normal temperatures from Florida to New England. 

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