Highland Park, IL Weather

Key Messages

- Generally well above normal temperatures will continue, albeit with a modest cool-down on Monday near and north of I-80, and particularly near Lake Michigan.

- There are periodic low/uncertain rain chances in the mid to late workweek period, with the best chance of any meaningful rainfall not until next Saturday (Halloween) night.

Update

Issued at 925 PM CDT Sat Oct 24 2026

No significant changes to the forecast this evening. Only item of note is an area of weak radar returns along the IL/WI border northwest of Rockford at this time, associated with high-based (15-20 kft) sprinkles/showers on the tail end of a mid-level speed max tracking across WI. 00Z DVN RAOB depict moisture above ~650 mb, coincident with relatively steep mid-level lapse rates of ~6.5 C/km. Farther to the south, ILX sounding displays weaker saturation and less favorable wind profiles. Deep layer of drier air below the mid-level cloud deck suggests the mid- level sprinkles indicated by these radar returns are very unlikely to reach the ground across far northern IL (though some light rain may reach the surface in spots across southern WI over the next few hours).

Ratzer

Discussion

Issued at 225 PM CDT Sat Oct 24 2026

Tonight through Sunday:

Following a calm, cool, and partly cloudy night tonight (relative to this afternoon's warmth), Sunday has a decent chance to be one of the warmest days of this current stretch. Mid and higher level cloud cover may limit temps from really overperforming, though currently expecting enough sun for widespread mid 70s highs away from the immediate Illinois shore. Localized upper 70s readings are plausible, especially over southwestern sections of the CWA (ie. in/near Pontiac).

Sunday Night through Saturday:

A backdoor cold front will move across the area Sunday night, knocking temps down vs. the weekend for Monday's highs, but still above average for late October. The coolest readings (around 60F/low 60s) will be found near Lake Michigan due to strengthening north-northeast winds. Expansive surface high pressure over the region on Monday night will likely yield the coolest night of the week (still solidly above normal for late October).

Tuesday will warm back to farther above average, followed by another period of well above average temps (highs approaching 80F in spots?!) centered on midweek. Chances for rain mid to late next week, while not zero, are low/nebulous, and the best chance for anything of note looks to be confined to primarily west and north of the local area. If a weakening cold front is able to push south across at least the northern half of the area Thursday-Thursday night, that would result in lower temps than in the official forecast (especially near the lake).

Aviation

Issued at 1156 PM CDT Sat Oct 24 2026

Quiet weather continues with VFR conditions persisting into tonight. Light southeasterly winds overnight will turn south- southwesterly shortly after daybreak this morning, but speeds will remain under 10 kt during the day. Winds will ease to 5 kt or less this evening in advance of an approaching cold front. This cold front will shift across the terminal airspace during the predawn hours of Monday morning, resulting in a north- northeasterly wind shift. We will also have to keep an eye on the potential for a period of IFR CIGs with the passage of this front early Monday morning. For the current set of 30 hour TAFs for ORD and MDW I did include this northerly wind shift after 10Z Monday morning. I also hinted at the possibility of some lower clouds (SCT008) around in the wake of this frontal passage.

KJB