For the third straight day, unseasonably warm weather on Sunday shattered the daily temperature record in Chicago, meteorologists said.

Short sleeves again were the norm as the city saw temperatures rise to a high of 69 degrees, eclipsing the Feb. 19 record of 65 set in 1930, according to the National Weather Service.

Sunday capped a record-setting weekend. On Friday and Saturday, highs of 67 and 70 degrees, respectively, set new benchmarks for temperatures recorded at O'Hare International Airport. Saturday's high was the third-highest temperature recorded during the month of February while Sunday's ranked fifth, National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Friedlein said.

"We have had anomalous temperatures before in February, but they are still very rare," he said.

The highest temperature on record for this month is 75 degrees on Feb. 27, 1976.

So far this February, the first 19 days of the month on average have been warmer than the first 19 days of last March. Typically, temperatures hover around the mid-30s this time of year, Friedlein said. The unusually warm weather has been due, in part, to the lack of snow this season combined with warm air masses from the southwest U.S., he said

"Snow cover acts like a freezer," Friedlein said. "And there hasn't really been much since prior to Christmas."

Forecasts made Sunday for upcoming days showed that daily temperature records could stay intact. But the city will have a chance Monday to tie a record for the most consecutive days in February with temperatures above 60 degrees — four.

Record-breaking temperatures Saturday draw Chicagoans outdoors Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas

The 70-degree temperature Saturday didn’t merely beat the previous record for warmest Feb. 18, it shattered the 1981 record of 62 degrees - without even breaking a sweat.

The same couldn’t be said for Chicagoans.

Across the city, the sporty ran, biked and rollerbladed while shopping fanatics flooded...

The 70-degree temperature Saturday didn’t merely beat the previous record for warmest Feb. 18, it shattered the 1981 record of 62 degrees - without even breaking a sweat.

The same couldn’t be said for Chicagoans.

Across the city, the sporty ran, biked and rollerbladed while shopping fanatics flooded...

(Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas)

The forecasts and record high temperatures for the upcoming days are:

Monday: High near 60; record of 64.

Tuesday: High near 59; record of 67.

Wednesday: High near 59; record of 68.

tbriscoe@chicagotribune.com

Twitter_tonybriscoe

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