Dear Tom,
How often do years have an 80(degrees) day in October? What is the October record for the number of 80(degrees) days?
Nick Recchia, River Grove, Ill.
Dear Nick,
October is good news for warm-weather buffs and those hoping to catch a reprise of summery temperatures before autumn chill sets in for good. In Chicago, an October with at least one day whose temperature climbs to 80(degrees) or higher is the rule rather than the exception.
At Midway Airport, 61 of 79 Octobers in the 1928-2006 period have registered at least one 80(degrees) day, or three Octobers out of four. October, 1963, produced 13 days at or above 80(degrees), the most ever.
However, October is now half over, and only 23 (one out of three) has produced an 80(degrees) day from today’s date onward.
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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.
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
