Dear Tom,
Both my fiancee and I are cursed with cold-weather birthdays, mine on Jan. 14 and hers on Jan. 24. We are locked in a dispute as to which day, historically, is colder. What are the averages and record lows? Is there a web site that would contain such data?
Mark Haban, Chicago
Dear Mark,
Cursed? That’s pretty harsh, but it is true that January is Chicago’s coldest month. The city’s temperature statistics show that Jan. 14 is colder, by a tiny margin, than the 24th. Average high/low temperatures on the 14th are 29(degrees)/14(degrees); on the 24th 30(degrees)/14(degrees). The record low on the 14th is -14(degrees) (1979) and -15(degrees) (1879) on the 24th.
The Chicago National Weather Service (http:// www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/) maintains a web site with a plethora of weather information, including climatological data in the “climate” link.
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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.
