Chicago Has 3rd 2nd Warmest March Day; 90-Year Record Broken by 9°

March 21, 7 PM CDT Update: Today's temperature was also a new record by a wide margin and a tie for the second warmest March temperature at Rockford. From the National Weather Service:

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 84 DEGREES WAS SET AT ROCKFORD IL   
TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 78 SET IN 1938. THIS IS THE  
SEVENTH OF EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH A NEW RECORD HIGH   
TEMPERATURE SET. 84 DEGREES TIES FOR THE SECOND WARMEST MARCH DAY   
(3/31/86) AT ROCKFORD.  

March 21, 5 PM CDT Update: The preliminary daily high temperature was 87° at Chicago, blowing away the previous record from 1938 by 10° and tying the second highest March temperature in 142 years.

March 21, 4 PM CDT Update: The temperature at Chicago has been 85° for the past 2 hours, so the 3rd warmest March temperature has been at least tied for the second consecutive day.

Original post:
The heat records keep on rolling at Chicago, where the National Weather Service reports the high temperature today of 85° crushed the 1921 record for the date of 76° by 9°. This made it the 3rd warmest March day ever, behind the 88° on March 29, 1986 and the 87° on March 31, 1981. It was also the 6th 80°+ day this month, further extending the record for most such days in March. It was already 80° by noon. The daily record had been broken an hour earlier, and the temperature is still 82° at 6 pm CDT.

It was also a record by a wide margin at Rockford:

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 83 DEGREES WAS SET AT ROCKFORD IL   
TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 79 SET IN 1921. IT IS THE SIXTH  
TIME SINCE MARCH 14 THAT A NEW RECORD HIGH FOR THE DATE HAS BEEN SET  
AT ROCKFORD. IT IS ALSO THE FIFTH 80 DEGREE DAY IN MARCH 2012...  
EXTENDING THE RECORD SET THIS MONTH FOR MOST 80 DEGREE DAYS IN MARCH.  
83 DEGREES IS THE THIRD WARMEST MARCH TEMPERATURE ON   
RECORD...SURPASSED ONLY BY THE 85 DEGREE READING OBSERVED ON MARCH 29  
1986 AND THE 84 DEGREES OBSERVED ON MARCH 31 1986.