Chicago on pace to set record for warmest February

Chicago is expected to set a record for the warmest February thanks to this week’s unseasonably high temperatures.

The city is on track to record a monthly average temperature of 39.4 degrees, surpassing the record of 39 degrees set in 1882, according to the National Weather Service.

Chicago fell one degree short of the all-time daily record high for February on Tuesday, reaching 74 degrees at O’Hare Airport. The highest temperature ever recorded in February was 75 degrees set in 1976.

Rockford broke its all-time daily high record for February, hitting 78 degrees on Tuesday.

Chicago set a record high on Feb. 26, with a high of 71 degrees, smashing the record of 64 degrees set on Feb. 26, 2000.

Unfortunately, the sun and warm temperatures were followed by a powerful cold front and extreme weather patterns Tuesday night.

“This time of year, you just have to be prepared for everything,” Jake Petr, a senior meteorologist at the NWS, told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Thunderstorms moved through the Chicago area Tuesday night and residents reported tornadoes in Sugar Grove, Hinckley and Waterman. The NWS was working Wednesday morning to survey the area and confirm those reports.

Despite temperatures in Chicago plunging into the 20s by Wednesday morning, the record average temperature is expected to be made official Friday.