Dear Tom,
Why does the Chicago National Weather Service office have the initials LOT?
Pam Farrell, Chicago
Dear Pam,
The initials LOT are the airport-code call letters for the Lewis Lockport Airport. The weather office is located adjacent to that airport on the campus of Lewis University in Romeoville. The NWS moved to that site in December 1991 from a location near O’Hare Airport as part of the National Weather Service’s modernization program that included nationwide installation of the WSR-88D Doppler radars. Two years later the radar was installed, and it has now been in operation for 13 years. Since many weather offices are located at airports, it is a common practice to use the three-letter airport code to identify the office. Other Chicago weather offices are identified by MDW (Midway Airport) and ORD (O’Hare).
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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.
