The Chicago area shattered a record high that stood for nearly two decades Monday.
The high at O'Hare Airport reached 88 degrees — four degrees higher than the previous record high set in 2008, according to the National Weather Service.
While it isn’t uncommon to see temperatures reach the 80s in October, forecasters say there have only been three other times highs nearly reached 90 degrees this late in October — twice in 1975 and once in 1947.
"In this particular case, we had a pretty pronounced ridge with the jet stream across the eastern United States, and this allowed warmer air to surge further north," said Jake Petr, a meteorologist with the weather service. "
Tuesday is expected to be the last day of above normal temperatures with highs reaching the upper 70s before dipping back down into the 60s Wednesday, according to the weather service.
"Today is really the last warm day for this week before we start to cool down into the weekend," Petr said.
