70s forecasted this weekend

Saturday should be the first official 70-degree day since leaves were still on the trees, but we're already behind schedule for this kind of weather.

We usually see the 70s by the end of March, according to the National Weather Service.  Two years ago, we were basking in them by the middle of March.

"It has been a cool spring already," said Rick Castro, the weather service meteorologist who coined the term "Chiberia" for this past brutal winter. "March was in the top 20 coldest on record."

Temperatures on Saturday could reach the middle or upper 70s across the Chicago area, Castro said. The weather service is forecasting mid-60s for Sunday, but WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling was more optimistic.

Skilling said Saturday and Sunday could be the first back-to-back 70-degree days since mid-October. "It's been long in coming!" Skilling wrote on his blog.

But the warm weather won't last for long.

We're in for "quite a rude awakening," Castro said, with the warmth and rising humidity sparking storms that could bring two inches or more of rain, starting late Saturday or Sunday. The northwest suburbs could get even more.

Then temperatures will fall into the 40s early next week before they rebound into the lower 60s by Thursday.