Unseasonably cool weather hits Chicago area

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Unseasonably cool weather has hit the Chicago area, causing some to bundle up - but some are not ready to give up on summer.

It may be cold, but Chicagoan Avis Greer isn't quite ready to give up on summer or her flip flops yet.

"I'm not ready to give this up yet. I'm not ready to give up these flip flops," Greer said. "I can't remember a September 12th being this chilly."

As autumn weather settles in, many along Michigan Avenue were dressed for the cold.

"Is it really that cold? It's really that cold. We were here yesterday and it was even colder. We're from Canada so we're used to the cold," said Andrea Clinton.

"Compared to Tuesday, we were at Wrigley and it was beautiful. Today not so much," said Nicole Reihl.

But unlike his wife, New Yorker Darren Kempen doesn't understand why everyone's pulling out the winter wear.

"If you start wearing this cold stuff now what are you going to do when it's December, January, really cold," Kempen said.

"I'm going to buy a Chicago sweatshirt and get some gloves and I'll be fine for the weekend," Viviane Kempen said.

Forecasters say normal high temperatures this time of year are in the middle 70s. But after falling overnight, it doesn't appear there's any warm-up in sight.

Despite that, Captain Tony Janis and the folks at Wendella Boat Tours say, rain or shine, they're doing their best to hang on to summer.

"After the last winter, summer is not over. It's going to be Indian fall," Janis said.

The weather change wasn't good for Mario's Italian Lemonade either. They're scheduled to close for the season this weekend, but were hoping for a few more customers.

"I feel like I didn't really have a summer, I don't like winter," said Mary Lovers of Mario's Italian Lemonade.

And although the staff at Gordon's Ace Hardware on Orleans just received their first supplies of ice melt and space heaters, assistant manager Kenny Gilroy says it not going on the shelves just yet.

"No snow blowers, no salt, just be calm don't freak out," Gilroy said. "Summer is still here."

Low clouds also covered the area for most of the day Friday, causing some flights arriving into O'Hare to be delayed an average of 31 minutes, according to Federal Aviation Administration officials.