Get your flip-flops, umbrellas and winter coats all ready this week as a weather whiplash is expected to continue in the Chicago area, beginning with record warmth and temperatures in the 70s.
As the work week gets underway, here's a breakdown of the Chicago forecast for Monday and beyond.
Monday: Record warmth expected
According to the NBC 5 Storm Team, Monday morning starts out chilly. Around 5:30 a.m., temperatures clocked in around 35 degrees in most parts, NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman said. By Monday afternoon however, temperatures will be nearly 30 degrees warmer than that.
The average high for Feb. 26 is 40 degrees, Roman said. Monday's predicted high temperature will be significantly warmer, at 69 degrees. That temperature is expected to break a record high temperature, set in 2000, of 64 degrees, Roman said.
"Some areas could hit 70," Roman said. Other areas are expected to remain in the mid- to upper- 60s, Roman added.
Local
Monday will also breezy, with winds gusting as high as 30 miles per hour. Those conditions could create a "significant fire risk," an alert from the National Weather Service said.
"Strong winds, very dry conditions and record warm temperatures will result in a significant fire weather risk this afternoon," the alert stated.
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As part of the fire risk, a Red Flag warning was issued for McHenry, Kane, DuPage, Kendall, Grundy, Will, Kankakee, DeKalb and LaSalle Counties, beginning at 12 p.m.
Skies are expected to be partly sunny, with more clouds moving in by afternoon. Overnight Monday, parts of the Chicago area could see a low chance for showers or isolated thunderstorms, Roman said.
"If any storms do develop, the strongest could produce hail, possibly up to around 1 inch in diameter," the NWS added.
Tuesday: 70 degree temperatures followed by thunderstorms
Tuesday will be an even warmer day, according to Roman, with a summer-like high temperature of 74 degrees. The record high for Tuesday is 75 degrees, set in 1976, Roman added.
Tuesday will also see the potential for showers and storms, some of which could be strong to severe, Roman said.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, the entire Chicago area Tuesday afternoon will be under a "slight" risk of severe weather, which ranks as level two of five on the SPC's severe weather scale.
"All weather hazards are at play," Roman said, noting that damaging winds, hail, and tornadoes were all possible.
According to Roman, the greatest chance for severe weather comes between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tuesday. After that, a cold front moves in.
"Rain and storms moving in will drastically drop our temps Tuesday night," Roman said.
Wednesday: Temperatures plummet
Early Wednesday, a cold front moving in behind the storm arrive, Roman said, with plummeting temperatures and even the chance for flurries.
"Yes, we are looking at snow," Roman said, adding that light snow could fall early Wednesday, between 2 and 8 a.m.
Around that time, temperatures are expected to be in the 20s, Roman said -- a far cry from the 70-degree warmth felt just 24-hours before.
"Going from the 70s Tuesday afternoon, to the 20s early Wednesday morning," Roman said, adding that highs in the mid-30s to low 40s were expected.
Extended forecast
Temperatures are expected to remain in 40s and 50s midweek, Roman said, before jumping back into the 60s by the weekend. The following week brings more 60-degree temperatures and chance for storms, Roman said.
