Weather Gods Bait-And-Switch Chicago... So Far
By Stephen Gossett in News on Jun 22, 2016 7:35PM
On Tuesday we warned you of all manner of potentially godawful weather raining down on Chicago on Wednesday: strong winds, large hail, derecho patterns, even tornado effects, all forecast as possibilities by the National Weather Service. So just as you'd expect, today has been... warm. And pleasant. And sunny. Overcast at times, but nice overall. Small smattering of rain in the morning, but nary a sign of precipitation since.
Sometimes you just shrug and say, "I guess this is Chicago."
Oh, and friends who dropped words like "panic" and "sensationalize" on social media, we see you. We're as annoyed with the National Weather Service as you are.
Michael Gallegly may have had the best laugh on our Facebook. He wrote: "Based on typical Chicago weather miscalculation, tomorrow sounds like a perfect day to bike to work and enjoy the sunshine along the lakefront." Touche, Kreskin.
That said, we're far from in the clear. Despite an uneventful first half of the day, Weather.com still has a flash flood warning in effect until 1 a.m. And Accuweather reports Wednesday afternoon of potential severe weather that could unleash 70-to-80 mph damaging winds. Reports also warn that flash flooding and large hail is still possible.
"People spending time outdoors will have to be alert for changing weather conditions and seek shelter as soon as thunder is heard, even in the absence of severe weather warnings," reports stated.
Hopefully predictions are proven wrong for the second half of the day. But either way, keep safe.