Dear Tom,
I call very cold days “calendar days” because the low and high temperatures look like a date. For example, a recent forecast called for 8(degrees)/23(degrees). On average, how many “calendar days” (low less than 13(degrees), high less than 32(degrees)) do we have each year in Chicago? What year had the most?
Maureen Moran, Evanston
Dear Maureen,
What a unique way to view cold temperatures! A collective tip of our weather hats, and here’s your answer:
A computer sweep of 134 years of Chicago’s daily temperature records (1871-2004) reveals that the city experiences an average of 16 “calendar days” annually (and we had to exclude zero and subzero readings as well).
The greatest number of “calendar days” goes to the year 1978, with 36. That year includes portions of two record-cold Chicago winters (the winters of 1977-78 and 1978-79).
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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.
