The area has experienced its chilliest overnight temperatures of the autumn season. But, truly cold weather has been in short supply this fall. The chilliest daytime temperature this season was the 46° high this past Monday. An analysis of weather records back to 1870 indicates only four other years have failed to produce a colder daytime high by now. Three of those four years went on to produce significantly above normal winter (December through February) temperatures.
This month’s average of 46.4° to date ranks among the warmest third of all Nov. 1-12 readings on record. Easterly winds recently off Lake Michigan and “warmer” than normal water temperatures have led to an impressive range in nighttime readings across the metro area. Friday morning lows ranged from 23°—the area’s chilliest at West Chicago—to 40° at Northerly Island on Chicago’s lakefront.
-Tom Skilling
