Illinois Weather: 02-20-2026

Good morning! I'm Aaron Jolly, and welcome to the Illinois Weather Podcast. It's Friday, February 16th, and folks, the wind woke up before you did. Here's the deal. Northern Illinois is sitting at 34 degrees with gusts hitting 20 miles an hour. That's the kind of wind that steals your hat and doesn't apologize. Drive south into Chicagoland and you're at 35 degrees, but gusts punch up to 25 miles an hour. It feels colder than your thermometer says. Now head down to central Illinois and things get friendlier. Highs near 40 degrees. Lighter winds around 15 miles an hour. Not exactly picnic weather, but for mid February? You'll take it. Tonight the wind finally takes a nap. Temperatures drop fast though. Mid 20s up north. Upper 20s around Chicago. Near 30 degrees down south. Quiet and crisp. No snow, no drama. Here's what's coming your way this weekend and beyond. Saturday brings sunshine and low 40s statewide. Sunday pushes into the mid 40s. Perfect for finally getting outside without five layers. Air quality sits in the moderate range, so sensitive groups might want to take it easy. Into next week, dry weather holds. Highs creep toward the upper 40s by Tuesday before a slight midweek cooldown. No storms lurking. No plot twists. Just a slow, steady march toward something that smells like spring. Oh, and here's your daily dose of hope. We're gaining nearly three minutes of daylight every single day now. Sunrise at 6:33 A.M., sunset at 5:18 P.M. That extra evening light? You'll feel it walking to your car after work. One more thing. If this forecast helped you plan your Friday, share it with someone who could use it. Word of mouth keeps us going. Bundle up if you're heading out this morning. That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow. Take care!