Warm, breezy Tuesday will give way to rain, cooler temps

Forecasters say suburbanites will enjoy the warmest day of 2021 so far on Tuesday, but winds will keep the 85-degree high feeling more like spring than midsummer.

"If you're this warm in April, you're going to have some southerly winds," said Kevin Donofrio, meteorologist for the National Weather Service's Chicago office.

Those winds will be noticeable throughout the day, but not quite as strong as on Monday, he added.

The record high for April 27 is 87 degrees, which Donofrio doesn't think will be reached Tuesday. Temperatures reach the 80s in late April about once every three years, he said.

The AccuWeather forecast calls for showers and thunderstorms late Tuesday to begin a cooling off that will result in a high of 67 degrees Wednesday and 61 degrees Thursday amid continuing rain.

Lake County could start its cool-down as early as Tuesday afternoon due to weather patterns in Wisconsin, Donofrio said.

The heaviest rain the region will see this week is likely to be south of the metropolitan area, he added. Elsewhere it may not be enough to alter the moderate drought being experienced in Lake County and northern Cook County or the abnormally dry conditions just south of there, but any rain would be welcome, Donofrio said.

Temperatures will likely move away from the cooler trend of the latter part of this week as May gets started, he added.