CHICAGO – When you step outside, you will immediately feel that something is not quite normal at the end of October.

Temperatures are not far from 70 degrees at this point and will only go up from here. It even feels a little damp out there. Today’s highs will easily surpass the record of 78 degrees, which was last set in 1999. Low temperatures of 80 degrees are imminent. Skies will be partly sunny. Winds will also play a big role, with gusts from the south-southwest reaching speeds of more than 40 miles per hour at times.

Due to winds and dry conditions, a Red Flag Warning is in effect this afternoon and evening due to the possibility of rapid spread and irregular fire development. Low temperatures tonight will remain in the mid to upper 60s, meaning today’s high-low record of 65 degrees will also be broken. In fact, this will likely be the warmest low on record at this late point in the season.

Tomorrow’s record is 85 degrees and will not be broken. However, highs will again be in the low 80s under partly to mostly cloudy skies. The wind will also be gusty again.

Then the focus shifts to the possibility of showers and storms after midnight into early Halloween morning. Some higher resolution forecast models strongly suggest that the shower line will pass here and there will be little precipitation. I will keep an eye on this trend as the outage mode cannot be ignored due to the inconvenient time of day for storms and the ongoing drought. What is certain is that the rain showers would have long since disappeared with trick-or-treaters.