Dear Tom,
Twenty-five years ago I was caught out on Lake Michigan in a terrible storm.
The storm took off roofs and capsized dozens of boats. What information do you have on this storm?
Ralph Bassett, Wilmette
Dear Ralph,
The storm that you remember struck during the evening hours of July 19, 1983, with wind gusts clocked as high as 87 m.p.h. at far northwest suburban Woodstock. The storm produced an extensive swath of damage to buildings, trees and power lines. Nine planes were overturned at DuPage Airport, and a 50-foot luxury cruiser moored at Navy Pier sank during the storm. The fast-moving storm produced a seiche on the lake resulting in a rapid fluctuation of water levels along the Chicago shore. Winds clocked in the city were not quite as strong, reaching 69 m.p.h. at O’Hare International Airport and 55 m.p.h. at Midway.
———-
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, 5:55 p.m. 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
