Chicago Weather: Windy, Warm With Chance for Severe Storms

Windy and warmer conditions are in the weather forecast for the start of the work week for the Chicago area.

High temps reaching between 51 and 60 degrees are expected on Monday while Tuesday will be even warmer with high temperatures between 60 and 64 degree. On both Monday and Tuesday, wind gusts could be as high as 40 mph.

There will be an increasing chance for rain showers by Monday afternoon and a chance for thunderstorms Monday night. Some of those storms could be strong to severe. The strongest storms are expected west of Interstate 39 and the main threat with these storms is strong, damaging winds.

Temps will drop back into the 40s for Wednesday. The day is also expected to be windy with partly cloudy skies in the forecast. On Thursday and Friday, high temps could reach back into the 50s.

Here is a look at a more look at the forecast for the coming days:

• SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy. A chance of sprinkles in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 50s. South winds 10 to 20 mph with occasional gusts to 25 mph.
• SUNDAY NIGHT: Cloudy. Lows in the upper 40s. South winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.
• MONDAY: Windy. Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of light showers. Highs in the lower 60s. South winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.
• MONDAY NIGHT: Windy. Showers and a chance of thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 40s. South winds 20 to 30 mph in the evening becoming west and decreasing to 10 to 20 mph after midnight. Gusts up to 40 mph. Chance of precipitation 80 percent.
• TUESDAY: Partly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of light showers in the morning, then mostly sunny in the afternoon. Breezy. Highs in the mid 50s. West winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.
• TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 30s.
• WEDNESDAY: Windy. Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 40s.
• WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 30s.
• THURSDAY: Partly cloudy. Highs around 50.
• THURSDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of light rain. Lows in the mid 30s.
• FRIDAY: Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 50s.

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Warm February

This past February has gone down in the record books as one of the warmest for Chicago. The average temperature throughout the month was 38.1 degrees making it the third warmest February in recorded history, according to the National Weather Service.

In February, there were twelve days where temperatures were higher than 50 degrees, which is a first for Chicago. This past February also saw the most 60-degree days with seven days reaching into the 60s.

High temps have been above average the entire 2016-17 winter season, according to the National Weather Service, and only 18.3 inches of total snowfall has fallen this season. During a typical winter, we will see about 28.1 inches of snow. This past February saw no recordable snow -- only the third time on record that has happened in Chicago -- and January was the sixth least snowiest on record with only .6 inches of snow.