Chicago Weather: A Warming Trend On The Way

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Wind chills will be in the single-digits and temperatures in the teens through Wednesday evening.

But readings will rise into the 20s for the Thursday morning rush.

Southwest winds Thursday will start pulling in mild air to take us above freezing with highs in the upper 30s.

On Friday, it will be mostly cloudy with a high of 43, Saturday mostly sunny with a high of 45, and Sunday again mostly sunny with a high of 49.

Some areas may reach 50 degrees Sunday and Monday.

Peeking ahead to Christmas – the normal high for Christmas at Chicago is 32 degrees. CBS 2's Mary Kay Kleist is forecasting 45 degrees for Christmas Day.

And in case you're wondering, high and low temperature statistics are based on 147 years of data. The official temperature measuring site was first at the University of Chicago, then at Midway Airport, and currently at O'Hare International Airport.