Dear Tom,
You recently said the last time we had a July with no 90s was in 2000. What happened the rest of that summer?
— Samantha Higgins, Chicago
Dear Samantha,
It has been nine years since the city experienced a July without a 90. In terms of days in the 90s, the summer of 2000 actually started out cooler than the current one, which has so far recorded three consecutive highs of 94 degrees on June 23 to 25. In 2000 the city did not record its first official 90 until Aug. 15 when it reached 92 degrees. The heat-challenged summer of 2000 went on to produce only three more 90-degree days, and those occurred consecutively Aug. 31 to Sept. 2. The highest temperature that year was only 93 degrees, logged on Sept. 1. The weather remained warm into early October with many days in the 80s, but the mercury never again reached 90.
———-
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
