Dear Tom,
Why has it been so warm? Where has winter gone?
Phil Porter
Dear Phil,
Many readers are asking similar questions, but the answers require that we expand our time perspective because it’s easy to be overly influenced by the weather that we’re experiencing right at the moment.
For Jan. 1-23, 2006, Chicago’s average temperature stands at 35.5+, the fourth mildest in 135 years of temperature records. In only three years (1880, 1932 and 1933) has the average Jan. 1-23 temperature been higher.
But now think back to December. The Dec. 1-21 period ranked as Chicago’s fourth coldest and questions like, “Why has it been so cold?” were popping up.
In reality, January’s temperature excesses have approximately erased December’s deficits. Averaged from Dec. 1 through Jan. 23, Chicago’s temperature ranks as #50 out of 135 — not so extreme after all.
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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.
