Dear Tom,
The recent articles about mild December, 1982 reminded me of another mild December that turned cold and was followed by 40+ straight sub-freezing days. What year was that?
Thanks, Brian Graham
Dear Brian,
That December was in 1976 and it marked the start of three consecutive severely cold and snowy winters that left Chicagoans reeling. December, 1976 was actually a very cold month that averaged 8.5 (degrees) below normal. However, you are remembering a mid-month, six-day mild spell where readings climbed into the 50s on Dec. 18-19. The shocking long-duration cold spell that followed began a week later when the mercury dropped below 32 (degrees) on Dec. 27 and remained below freezing for a record 43 days until finally rising above 32 (degrees) on Feb. 9, 1977. During this frigid period the temperature fell below zero on 17 days with the lowest reading -19 (degrees) on Jan. 16.
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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.
