Looking up from Lake Street near State Street. Clouds in the morning have given way to partly sunny skies. (Credit: Adam Harrington/CBS)
Reporting Mary Kay Kleist
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CHICAGO (CBS) — The storms that might have woken you up in the wee hours have gone on their way, leaving sunny skies and close to the lake, pleasantly cool temperatures.
While there were clouds around the area in the morning, skies were clearing in the midday hours, with only some clouds remaining from the downtown area south.
Meanwhile, CBS 2 Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist reports a lake breeze from the northeast is keeping temperatures cooler along the lake. As of 11:20 a.m., the temperature was 79 at the lake, compared with 80 at O’Hare International Airport, and 83 southwest of the Chicago area in Peru, Ill.
The official forecast high for the day is 86 degrees, but the high could hit 88 well inland, and will only likely hit 82 along the lake.
And while the rain might have sounded like a rip-roaring monsoon to your slumbering ears, it actually amounted only to 0.25 inches in most places.
While the city of Chicago, most of Cook County, and DuPage County remain under only a moderate drought, a severe drought has now been declared for northern Cook County, and all of Lake, McHenry and Kane counties.
CBS 2’s Vince Gerasole was at the Bleuer family farm in Channahon Tuesday morning, and farmer Bob Bleuer said the corn should be 12 to 15 feet tall. But instead, it was only up to an average person’s waist.
And Bleuer said even more rain “will not help this crop at all. It might put a little weight to the kernels on an ear that may have been formed, but you notice around here, you’ve got to really hunt to find any ears at all.”
Bleuer’s soybean crop was also suffering.
“This means economic disaster for a lot of guys,” Bleuer said.
But as for the weather, look for a low overnight of 65, and a high on Wednesday of 88. The high rises to 91 Thursday with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms Thursday night, followed by 85 Friday, 90 Saturday with more possible storms, 85 Sunday, and 84 Monday.
