Dear Tom,
We are trying to settle a weather dispute at my office. Which city has had more snowy Halloweens, Chicago or Boston?
Ken Frankel
Dear Ken,
Halloween is not a holiday known for snow in either city. Weather records for both Chicago and Boston date back well before 1900 and show that officially neither city has recorded more than a trace of snow on Oct. 31. Boston has received a trace of snow on seven Halloweens as compared to Chicago’s six. The last official Halloween snow reported in Chicago was 12 years ago in 1993, but in 1994 after a very rainy day, falling temperatures in the far west and northwest suburbs just before midnight produced enough snow to whiten the ground. That same evening a deadly plane crash attributed to aircraft icing occurred in northwest Indiana near Roselawn killing all 68 people on board.
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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.
