Dear Tom,
My mother tells me that the summer of 1951 was so cool that she never put her woolens away. How cool was it?
Mari Educate
Dear Mari,
The summer of 1951 ranks as the 26th coolest out of 133 summers, cool but not exceptionally so. The summer’s temperature averaged just under 70 (degrees), a little more than one degree below normal. There were 7 days of 90 (degrees) or higher in June, July and August with the summer’s highest reading only reaching 92 (degrees). Your mother’s memories of a cool summer were undoubtedly influenced by the overnight low temperatures. Morning lows fell below 60 (degrees) on 43 out of the 92 (47%) days that summer, quite astounding since the official readings were taken in the urban environment at Midway Airport. The summer’s lowest reading was a chilly 43(degrees) on June 5. If your family lived in the suburbs, readings were even lower.
———-
Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
