Dear Tom,
I’ll never forget the bitterly cold Christmas Eve in 1983. What were the conditions that allowed this to happen?
MaryAnn Sleepy Hollow, Ill.
Dear MaryAnn,
Christmas Eve 1983 with its incredibly cold average temperature of -18(degrees) is Chicago’s coldest day ever since records began here in late 1870. The day’s high of -11(degrees) has been equaled only once (Jan. 18, 1994) and the -25(degrees) low surpassed only twice (-26(degrees) Jan. 10, 1982, and Jan. 20, 1985, -27(degrees)). In addition to the severe cold, strong winds created brutal wind chills to -82(degrees), the city’s all-time lowest value. The bitterly cold air arrived here in the wake of a 4 inch snowfall on Dec. 21. A massive 31.30″ high centered over Montana in conjunction with deep low pressure in northeast Canada directed the bitterly cold air from the polar regions right into Chicago and the Midwest.
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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.
