Dear Tom,
During my childhood in the early 1950s I remember spending most of my summers in a swimming pool during very hot weather. Could you characterize the summers of the 1950s?
— John Skaritka
Dear John,
You were not alone in trying to escape the heat during the 1950s. Based on average temperature, five of the city’s all-time 10 warmest summers (June, July, August) occurred during the ’50s. The summer of 1955 with an average temperature of 76.4 degrees holds the honors as the city’s warmest. That year the city logged 46 days where the mercury reached 90 degrees or higher. Other summers with a lot of 90 degree plus days included 1953 (42), 1959 (39), 1952 (38), and 1954 (36). Based on Midway Airport data, the ’50s brought Chicago 276 days of 90 degrees or higher, second only to the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s that recorded 343 such days.
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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 11:30 a.m., 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
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