Dear Tom,
Summers in the 1930s were very hot. What was the tally of “century days” in those years?
–Paul Sarewich, Chicago
Dear Paul,
When it comes to 100- degree occurrences in Chicago, the decade of the 1930s yielded a bumper crop of 100-degree days unrivaled in the city’s 139 years of documented weather history. From 1930 through 1939, 37 “century days were registered at Midway Airport. And in the 1930s, two summers stand out: 1934 and 1936. Each recorded 11 days of 100-degree heat that were without precedent in two dangerous aspects, duration and intensity–six consecutive 100-degree days, July 20 to July 25, 1934; and eight consecutive days, July 7 through 14, 1936. The daily highs during the 1934 period were 103, 108, 104, 109, 107 and 105, and in 1936 the highs were 102, 106, 100, 106, 107, 100, 102 and 104.
———-
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
