Dear Tom,
I was born on December 9, 1919, and my father always told me how cold it was that day, but he never mentioned the actual temperature. How cold was it on the day of my birth?
Eleanor Lorenz, Chicago
Dear Eleanor,
Temperatures were plunging on the day you were born, from a high in the upper 20s to just 1(degrees) above zero by midnight as strong gusty north winds swept cold air into the city in the wake of a storm system moving northeast up the Ohio Valley. Only flurries fell in Chicago that day, but three inches of snow covered the ground from a previous snowfall on Dec. 6 and 7. The next day, Dec. 10, was even colder as the temperature ranged from a bone-chilling high of only 8(degrees) to a frigid low of -8(degrees). The chill was compounded by gusty west winds that sent wind chills as low as 20 to 30 below zero.
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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.
