Dear Tom,
I find autumn temperatures to be pleasant because it is usually not too hot or too cold at this time of year. This causes me to wonder, what is the most common high temperature for Chicago?
Marty Sandalar
Dear Marty,
In order to find the answer to your question, we scanned the entire Midway Airport temperature data set–the 75- year period from 1929 through 2003, or 27,393 days–and the results might surprise you. As determined by the Midway data, Chicago experiences daily maximum temperatures in the 80s more frequently than any other 10-degree interval: 4,573 out of the 27,393 possible days, or 17 percent of the days. That is followed by highs in the 70s (16 percent), in the 30s (14 percent) and in the 40s (13 percent). The most frequently occurring specific high temperature is 80(degrees) (registered on 539 days), then 78(degrees) (518), 86(degrees) (500) and 85(degrees) (498).
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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.
