Dear Tom,
Did we just experience our wettest Easter?
—Dr. Lawrence Belun, Geneva
Dear Dr. Belun,
Not by a long shot. Though a burst of late afternoon and evening thunderstorms brought an official 0.80 inches of rain to the city, there have been seven wetter Easters in Chicago. The wettest one occurred in 1928 when 3.12 inches of rain soaked the city, forcing the cancellation of the Easter parade and flooding portions of the subways and Chicago’s fledgling Municipal Airport, now Midway. Other Easters with heavy rainfall include 1882 with 1.49 inches and 1984 with 1.43 inches, and in 2006, the city recorded a 0.88 inch rainfall.
There have also been two white Easters here, one in 1920 when 6.4 inches of snow fell and the other in 1964 when a 7.1-inch snowfall put a major crimp in holiday plans.
