Dear Tom,
What day of the year has the greatest range between the record high and low in Chicago? Might it be Dec. 24?
Marge Dimond, Elmhurst
Dear Marge,
With an 89-degree range between the record high of 64(degrees) in 1889 and record low of -25(degrees) in 1983, your Christmas Eve guess was an excellent one. However, that date comes up short by just one degree. The winner for the day with the greatest range of temperature extremes here is Jan. 20. The span between the record high of 63(degrees) in 1906 and the city’s all-time record low of -27(degrees) in 1985 is 90 degrees.
These large spans in daily temperatures are a testament to the vigor of Chicago’s continental climate. The differences between daily summer extremes are also substantial, but far less than those in winter. Chicago’s hottest day, July 24, hosts a 52-degree span from a 105(degrees) high in 1934 to a low of 53(degrees) in 2000.
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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.
