Dear Tom,
In what year did Chicago’s official temperature site move to O’Hare Airport?
Jim Levine
Dear Jim,
Weather observations have been taken at O’Hare for nearly 50 years, beginning on Oct. 30, 1958, but the airport did not become the city’s ?official? weather observation site until Jan. 17, 1980. When a weather station is designated a city’s official site, it simply means that the reports are the ones used for climate and record purposes. It does not imply a greater accuracy or precision to the data. Prior to O’Hare becoming official, Chicago’s official observations were taken at a variety of sites. From October 1870 through December 1925, various downtown locales filled the bill. From January 1926-June 1942, readings were taken at the University of Chicago, after which they were shifted to Midway Airport until the 1980 move to 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.
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