Quieter Week .... For Now

After a seemingly endless streak of cold days and snow, the weather for the next few days look to be pretty benign.  However, later this week, it will get interesting around here.  

It's going to warm up significantly starting Thursday, and lasting into New Years Eve.  We could see high's next Friday into the mid 50's.   There is a price to pay for it though.  We could see significantl arounts of rain, fog, and even thunderstorms into next weekend.   Here is the outlook from the National Weather Service

THE LATEST MODEL GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO ADVERTISE A BIG PATTERN
CHANGE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK WITH MANY POTENTIAL HAZARDS
IN THE FORECAST. RAIN...HEAVY AT TIMES...IS EXPECTED TO ACCOMPANY
A WARM FRONT MOVING THROUGH THE AREA EARLY THURSDAY. INITIALLY
THERE IS A THREAT FOR FREEZING RAIN AS TEMPERATURES AS THE SURFACE
REMAIN BELOW FREEZING...HOWEVER TEMPERATURES SHOULD QUICKLY WARM
THURSDAY AND PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE TO ALL RAIN. THE
COMBINATION OF MELTING SNOW AND HEAVY RAINS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY
COULD ALSO POSE A FLOODING PROBLEM FOR SOME AREAS.

SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE ADVECTION OVER REMAINING SNOWPACK ON
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WILL LEAD TO FOGGY CONDITIONS FOR THE SECOND
HALF OF THE WEEK...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR WIDESPREAD DENSE FOG.

We will have to keep our eyes out for this.

Here is the expected forecast for the next few days here in Chicago:

This Afternoon: A 30 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly
cloudy, with a high near 30. North northwest wind around 15 mph, with
gusts as high as 20 mph. 

Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a
low around 13. Wind chill values as low as zero. North northwest wind
between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. 

Monday: Mostly
sunny, with a high near 25. Wind chill values as low as zero. West wind
between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. 

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 14. Wind chill values as low as zero. West southwest wind around 10 mph. 

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 29. West wind between 10 and 15 mph. 

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 16. 

Hope everyone has a great week ahead!