Thursday Brings A Taste Of Winter, But Major Warmup Coming Next Week

CHICAGO (CBS) -- You could be forgiven for thinking it's already winter, after wind chills dipped into the mid 20s in many areas early Thursday, and some areas saw their first bit of snow, but this unseasonably chilly weather shouldn't last long.

Some far northern areas of Illinois saw their first snow flurries of the year overnight, but that shouldn't be a worry again for a while in the Chicago area.

While a very chilly day was in store on Thursday, with a high of only about 47 for Chicago (about 10 degrees lower than normal for late October) and winds gusting into the 40s, milder conditions were on the way for the weekend, and most of next week should be much warmer than normal.

Thursday night's temperatures should dip to about 40 degrees, and Friday should get up to about 55, with much calmer winds, at only about 5 mph.

Halloween temperatures should reach the mid 50s again, but showers are a very good likelihood, especially early in the day. Rain could clear out in time before evening trick-or-treating, but it will be touch-and-go.

Temperatures will warm in a big way to kick off November, with a high around 60 on Sunday, and then highs in the mid to upper 60s Monday through Thursday. Normally, the first few days of November see highs only in the low to mid 50s.