Dear Tom,
What are the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in McHenry County?
Roseann
Dear Roseann,
We asked Illinois State Climatologist Dr. Jim Angel to help answer your question. Even though there are not a lot of long-term weather records available for McHenry County, Dr. Angel was able to check temperatures dating back to 1893 for the town of Marengo. The all-time hottest reading there occurred during the “Dust Bowl” when the mercury soared to 109(degrees) on July 14, 1936. The coldest day was logged in the brutally cold and snowy 1978-79 winter when the temperature plunged to -29(degrees) on Jan. 11, 1979. Dr. Angel cautioned that while greater extremes may have occurred prior to 1893, the lack of maximum and minimum recording equipment as well as thermometer exposure make those readings suspect.
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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.
