Dear Tom,
I remember a lot of wet Memorial Days, especially in the 1980s. How many of the last 35 or so Memorial Days have been rain free?
Sharon Cooke, La Grange
Dear Sharon,
Your perceptions are quite correct. Since 1970, the Chicago area has experienced some rain on 24 out of the last 37 Memorial Days including this year, so during that time span, only 13 have been rain-free. The wet Memorial Day period that you remember actually began in 1970 and continued through 1989. During those 20 years, rain fell on 16 of the holidays (80 percent), including seven consecutive rainy ones from 1981-87. Since 1990, Memorial Day weather has been more suitable for outdoor activities with rain falling on just 7 of the last 17 holidays (41 percent), but unlike this year, many recent Memorial Days have trended toward the cool side.
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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.
