Chicago area sets record for warmest year through November

Chicago has seen its warmest year on record through November with an average temperature of 57 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

The city's warmer-than-usual temperatures broke the record for the warmest year-to-date through November, which was set in 1921 with an average temperature of 56.4 degrees, the weather service said.

The third-warmest year through November is 2012, which saw a year-to-date average temperature of 56.1 degrees, said Gino Izzi, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Of the top 10 warmest years through November, six of them have happened since 2012, Izzi said. Those years include this year, last year, 2021, 2020, 2017 and 2012.

If this year's warmer temperatures continue — and December sees an average temp of at least 27.1 degrees — the city will set a new record for the warmest overall year, according to the weather service. The current record for the warmest year was set in 2012, at 54.5 degrees.

Just one day into December, Chicago hasn't seen temperatures that high. On Sunday, the city saw a high of 27 degrees and a low of 14 degrees, making for an average of 21 degrees, Izzi said.

Temperatures through the rest of the week could be a "roller coaster," Izzi said. The colder temperatures will continue Monday and Tuesday before Wednesday sees temperatures rise into the 40s.

But an arctic front is expected Thursday that should send temperatures plummeting back to below freezing, Izzi said.