Temperatures Could Plunge Briefly for "Pneumonia Front"
By Chris Bentley in News on Mar 14, 2012 5:20PM
We’re almost a week shy of the vernal equinox, and Spring has barged in ahead of its official debut with near-80 temperatures that may set a record. But Chicago weather is nothing if not fickle. Meteorologists say winter will not let this sunny aggression stand — they’re predicting a “pneumonia front” to plunge temperatures Thursday afternoon.
The Chicago Weather Center had this premonition:
The city's warm spell will be briefly interrupted Thursday afternoon as a surge of lake-chilled air dubbed a "pneumonia front" sends temperatures crashing as much as 30 degrees from the 70s into the 40s in areas close to Lake Michigan.
Don’t stow away the jacket yet. You’ll see that spiteful chill on its way in, “as low clouds and fog engulf the city,” the Weather Center continues. Completing its cycle of malarial temperature swings, the cold weather will dissipate by Friday afternoon.
Then it’s more days in the 70s. WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling says Chicago could see four more days of record warmth next week.