Though Chicago beaches reopened for the season Friday, the forecast for Memorial Day weekend may have Chicagoans reaching for a sweater.
Throughout the extended weekend, temperatures could reach the low to mid 60s near O’Hare and in the lower 50s alongside the lakefront, according to David King, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“What’s interesting is that each day this weekend is looking like a carbon copy of the previous day,” King said.
There is a 10 percent chance of rain Monday night into Tuesday, but otherwise the weekend is expected to be mostly sunny to party cloudy with lows dropping into the mid 40s over the weekend, according to the weather service.
Temperatures for the weekend are slightly below average but aren’t expected to hit any record lows, King said. Last year, temperatures for Memorial Day weekend were in the low to mid 70s.
For beach-goers not deterred by the cool weather, King said there isn’t much of a swim risk but that swimmers shouldn’t stay in the water for too long.
“As much as people probably want to get in the water, it’s still pretty chilly out there,” King said. “The lake temperatures really don’t increase into later into summertime when you get more sun and more warmer temperatures to actually warm up the water.”