Hey Tom,
It rained on my birthday, June 18, and it’s been like that for many years. On Chicago’s weather calendar, which dates are mostly likely to have rain? How does June 18 rank?
Tom Mohr, Wheaton, Ill.
Dear Tom,
A few bad experiences often bias our remembrances of past events, and that is especially true when we recall the frequency of inclement weather occurrences on special dates. For example, it does not rain more frequently on weekends than on weekdays, despite a popular notion to the contrary.
And so it is with your birthday, June 18. Since 1871, rain has fallen on 43 June 18ths out of 136 in Chicago, or 32% of the days. Since 1970 (the most recent 37 years), it has rained on 12 June 18ths, again 32%.
Precipitation occurs most often in March, and June 18 ranks 288th out of the year’s 365 days–in the driest 40%.
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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.
