On Thursday, under mostly sunny skies, gradually strengthening southwest winds eventually gusting in excess of 30 mphwill boost afternoon highs close to the 70-degree mark, approaching the record high of 71 degrees set in 1949. The normal high for this date is 51. This will give us a brief taste of late-September-like temperatures, as a cold front is forecast to move through from the north by evening with winds shifting north, bringing a 20-degree-plus temperature drop overnight. Readings will struggle to recover even to 50 on Friday for Veterans Day, the cold air creating unstable conditions and possibly triggering scattered lake-effect showers. With the core of coldest air overhead Saturday morning, we can expect the first widespread freezing weather of the season, except in the city and along the Lake Michigan shoreline.