After Setting Two Records For Cold, Brief Respite On The Way For Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) -- After breaking two records for extreme cold on Thursday, the double digit temperatures expected by Friday afternoon should seem downright mild by comparison.
The official temperature in Chicago broke two records that stood for nearly 80 years on Thursday, as the low was 8 below zero around 6:20 a.m., one degree lower than the previous record low for Feb. 19, set in 1936, according to the National Weather Service.
Another record from the same year was broken later in the day, when the high reached only 4 degrees, setting the record for the coldest high temperature for Feb. 19, beating the previous record of 9 degrees set in 1936.
While the Chicago Public Schools and most other school district canceled classes on Thursday due to the extreme cold, CPS and most other districts in the area resumed class on Friday.
Though temperatures were again in negative numbers Friday morning, they came a few degrees shy of setting another record. The low hit 5 below early Friday, shy of the Feb. 20 record of 9 below, set in 1896.
With temperatures gradually rising through Friday night, highs could reach the high teens or low 20s before midnight. Temperatures should continue rising even after midnight, and could reach nearly 30 degrees before dawn on Saturday, with a possible high of 31 sometime Saturday afternoon.
Those relatively mild conditions won't stick around, as Sunday is expected to bring highs in the teens, and then a return to below zero headed into Monday, when the high will top out at only about 10 degrees.
