Dear Tom,
Why don’t we ever hear about a record high low or a record low high?
Ellen and Andy Wehrman, Chicago
Dear Ellen and Andy,
Though not as dramatic as a record high or a record low, meteorologists do keep track of these events, and we frequently refer to them on this weather page. Delving through Chicago’s record temperature archives, the all-time record low high here was a frigid -11(degrees) observed on two occasions: Dec. 24, 1983, and Jan. 18, 1994. As far as record high lows go, the city’s all-time warmest overnight reading was a sweltering 85(degrees) on July 29, 1916, during a major heat wave.
If you check out the climate section on the Chicago National Weather Service’s web site (at www.crh.noaa.gov/lot), you will find a listing of all the Chicago daily temperature records– including the record low highs and record high lows.
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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.
