What's in the Morton Grove Clouds

Sneak Peek for Morton Grove's Weather: April 9 to April 15

• Severe thunderstorm probabilities increase late on Sunday, early on Monday
• Temperatures will average 1 to 3 degrees above normal
• Rain will average below normal with next chance of rain around Wednesday and Thursday 
• Looks like snow is officially off the radar; more typical spring pattern on the way
• It’s barbeque countdown time! 

Weather Week in Review: April 1 to April 8 in Morton Grove

We move into a more typical pattern for early spring in the Midwest with more seasonal temperatures over the past week. The dominant pattern over the past several weeks has been a northwest flow pattern aloft, which caused several modified arctic outbreaks to drop south all the way to the Ohio Valley, causing our prolonged cold spell late in March through the first of April. Now that the sun angle is getting higher each day and snow is gone, temperatures are finally responding nicely with readings above normal over the past weekend.

Yet this warm weather came at a price, as one of the systems brought inclement weather to the Morton Grove area.It all started with a warm front which quickly surged north across the area on Sunday, April 3. A band of showers and storms developed late in the day to our west with scattered thunderstorms moving across our area between 9 p.m. and midnight. Severe weather was a possibility at the time and the first weather watch of the season was issued by the National Weather Service during the early evening. While there were several reports of hail and high winds, severe storms remained south of Morton Grove, and rain amounts were minimal, averaging less than a quarter of an inch. There were a few impressive lightning strikes though, which produced a vivid light show.

A strong cold front raced through the area early on Monday, April 4, with temperatures dropping from the mid 60s to the mid 40s in a 12-hour period. Blustery and cooler conditions persisted through much of Monday with partly sunny skies on the Tuesday and high temps climbing into the low 50s.

High pressure to the south and an active storm track to the north caused several more chances of rain. A weak front draped across northern Illinois and caused several sprinkles and light rain showers on Wednesday. A stronger storm ejecting out of the plains moved up in our direction with a more widespread rain event falling late Thursday night into early Friday with improving weather conditions by late Friday morning and afternoon.

Looks like we’ve finally graduated into spring, not a moment too soon!