Dear Tom,
I remember June 13 as a very stormy and rainy day in the Chicago area. It rained again this year. How often has the Chicago area had rain or storms on this date?
— Bill Ooms, Alsip
Dear Bill,
A check of Chicago’s precipitation records (1871-2009) on June 13 confirms your suspicions. At least some rain has fallen on that date 78 times out of 139 days, 56 percent of the days. The normal mid-June precipitation frequency is 35 percent. June 13 is also infamous in Chicago weather history. In 1976, a devastating F4 tornado killed two and injured 20 as it carved a “J”-shaped path of destruction through Lemont. The twister tossed cars through the air and destroyed an eight-block area that included half of the Lemont High School. The storm dropped 2-inch diameter hail and flooding rains that totaled 7.5 inches in the Oak lawn area.
———-
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.
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
Weather updates: Search for forecasts by ZIP code and radar images at chicagotribune.com/weather or wgntv.com
