Warmer weekend temperatures draw people outdoors in McHenry County

With temperatures finally inching toward spring-like levels, Woodstock resident Annmarie Dalton ventured to Historic Woodstock Square with her 13-month-old daughter, Izzy.

The weather was awesome, especially after the bitter temperatures that smothered the area for weeks, Dalton said as her daughter munched on an orange.

“I feel like we’ve all been cooped up so long,” Dalton said. “Just to be able to breathe fresh air – that is not frozen – is such a blessing.”

Matt Friedlein, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Chicago, said Saturday and Sunday were expected to be in the mid 40s to low 50s. Sunday, however, was expected to be cloudy and even foggy throughout the morning and early afternoon.

The warmer temps are thanks to southerly winds, Friedlein said. The area is also losing its snowpack, he added, which had acted like a freezer by keeping cold temperatures in place.

Temperatures are expected to drop slightly Monday as a cold front moved through the area Sunday afternoon, Freidlein said.

“The highs look to be in the mid to upper 30s on Monday across the metro,” he said. ”That’s pretty close to normal for this time of year.”

Monday night heading into Tuesday, it will be somewhat chilly, Freidlein said, but by the middle of the week, it will get into the 50s again, and as it continues into March, people will start to see more spring-like weather.

“Any cold shots tend to be more short lived. The chances for significant snow start to gradually wane, too, through the month,” Freidlein said. “And then daylights just getting longer as well.”

When it was colder, Dalton tried to get Izzy to play in the snow, to no avail.

“I think she’s a warm-weather baby,” Dalton said. “Hopefully, her season is coming up.”

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dalton said, she was trying to stay inside anyway, so the cold weather just gave her another incentive not to go out.

But with a COVID-19 vaccine now being administered to certain groups, and with it getting warmer, Dalton said she’s really getting excited for spring and summer, especially Woodstock’s Farmer’s Market and going to the park.

“Just being outdoors,” is something Dalton is looking forward to, along with wearing lighter layers.

“I had to put the goose down [jacket] away, at least for the day,” Dalton said.

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Spring Weather The Old Courthouse and Jail is reflected in melting snow Sunday afternoon, Feb. 28, 2021, in the Historic Woodstock Square as people enjoy a bit of warmer weather do doe some outside activities. (Gregory Shaver for Shaw Media/Gregory Shaver for Shaw Media )

Jack and Kristina O’Connell, of Round Lake, were also walking around the Square. Both of them said they enjoy coming to Woodstock and seeing the different local businesses.

“It’s wonderful,” Jack O’Connell said of the weather.

“It just makes you feel like spring is coming,” Kristina O’Connell said.

It was especially nice for the O’Connells, as they stayed inside because of the cold and snow.

“Whether it’s how the roads are [or] just the fact that we have to shovel to get out of the house,” Jack O’Connell said.

So now, Kristina O’Connell said, it’s nice to be outside again.

“It feels like it did in the summertime,” Kristina O’Connell said. “Just walking around, hanging out. We kept pointing out stores to each other we hadn’t seen before. It’s really fun.”

Crystal Lake resident Kayla Knaak, out running errands with her boyfriend, Mitch Gralek, said the around 50-degree temperatures practically felt like summer compared to how it was for the past couple of weeks.

“We stayed inside the whole time, definitely,” she said of the colder weather. The warm weather was definitely a good mood-booster, she said.

Edgar Rosales, who walked around downtown Crystal Lake on Saturday and stopped by the Crystal Lake Antique Mall, called the warm weather pleasing.

“It makes me want to be active, stay out, enjoy it,” he said. “That’s what I’m doing.”

The weather changed quickly, Rosales noted.

“I don’t mind the snow, sometimes, but when it gets freezing cold, I can’t do it,” he said.