Dear Tom,
My parents, who both grew up on Iowa farms, always talk about the 1940 Armistice Day storm. How did that storm impact Chicago?
— Ann Montgomery, La Grange Park
Dear Ann,
The Nov. 11, 1940, Armistice Day storm was one of the worst to ever hit the Midwest. The region was basking in 50-60 degree warmth in the strong southerly flow preceding the storm. As the storm passed, cold air slammed into the region on howling 50-70 m.p.h. winds, turning rain to snow as temperatures plunged to single-digits. Blizzard conditions developed across Iowa and Minnesota where snow drifted as high as 15 feet. In Chicago, the mercury reached 63 degrees at 11 a.m. then fell to 20 by midnight and to 16 the following morning. Winds here peaked at 65 m.p.h., damaging buildings, trees, power lines and blowing out hundreds of windows.
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Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or: asktomwhy@wgntv.com
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