Dear Tom,
Recent columns have referenced late-March snowstorms, but I remember a snowstorm that postponed the White Sox’s home opener in April 1982. Is that correct?
— Steve Rogers, Willowbrook
Dear Steve,
Not only did an 8- to 12-inch snowstorm postpone the White Sox home opener on Tuesday, April 6, 1982, it wiped out the entire opening series with the Boston Red Sox. The snow moved into the city on Monday accompanied by howling northeast winds that gusted in excess of 40 m.p.h.
Near-blizzard conditions prevailed with the visibility reduced to near zero in many areas. By late Monday the storm had deposited 9.4 inches of snow at O’Hare International Airport while Midway Airport logged 10.5 inches. City and suburban schools were forced to close, and area traffic was brought to a standstill. Record cold followed the snow as the mercury plunged to 7 degrees on April 7, establishing a record low temperature for the month of April.
———-
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or: asktomwhy@wgntv.com
Weather Report is prepared by the WGN-TV Weather Center, where Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN 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.
IN THE WEB EDITION: For updated weather news, forecasts by ZIP code and local radar images, go to chicagotribune.com/weather or wgntv.com
