Chicago - Today is the last day of fall with meteorological winter starting tomorrow. After five straight days with below average temperatures we bounce back above average today and start a streak of warmer than average days that should last through at least Friday.
Thursday should be the warmest day of the next several with highs soaring to near 60°.
Thursday's temperature anomaly forecast map for the U.S. looks like it is on fire. Almost the entire country is expected to be above average Thursday afternoon. The Chicago area is forecast to be between 15° to 20° above average. The average high for December 2nd is 41°.
All good things come to an end and this week's warm up will come to a close this weekend as we drop back to about average. This is only a moderate brand of cold for early December with the coldest highs next week around 37° which are just a few degrees below normal.
Looking longer range at the 8-14 day outlook shows a milder than average pattern from next Tuesday through the following Monday. This covers the period of December 7th through the 13th. None of the contiguous United States is forecast to be below average during this period.
Looking even longer range at the 30-Day GEFS 30-Day Temperature Anomaly Forecast temperature anomaly forecast shows this milder than average period could last a few days past Christmas. This forecast covers the period from November 28th through December 28th. The Chicago area is forecast to be between 1° to 2° above average overall during this stretch.