The freshly snow-covered Chicago area shimmered in Thanksgiving’s bright sun—a distinct change from Wednesday’s wind-driven snow. The final official tally on Chicago snowfall in the storm reached 4.1” at O’Hare. But the highly reflective snowpack, over which west suburban temperatures plummeted to single digits to the city’s west in the Sugar Grove/Aurora area (8°) Thursday morning for the first time this season, interfered with daytime warming which occurs so strongly over bare ground. The result was fall 2004’s coldest high temp and the chilliest reading here since 33° last March 21. The December-level reading meant that Thanksgiving 2004 ranked 35th coldest on record here since 1873. The chill’s plunge into the Deep South prompted frost and freeze warnings south to Mississippi and Alabama.
While Chicago’s has its first snow on the books, Madison, Wis.—where measurable snows usually hit by Nov. 5—has recorded only a few flakes to date.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
