The season’s first sub-zero blast Friday morning delivered temperatures locally as low as -6º (Lake Villa, Mundelein, Streamwood)—cold, to be sure, but far from the record lows registered at International Falls, Minn., -35º, and Rhinelander, Wisc., -29º. The arctic chill even pushed to the Gulf: Sleet and snow fell at New Orleants Friday morning.
But the arctic surge is departing as quickly as it arrived. A multi-day warm-up that begins today in Chicago will culminate with 50º+ readings by next Thursday.
While winter is in progress here, it’s summer “down under” and today marks the 30th anniversary of Australia’s worst ever hurricane (Australians call them “cyclones”). On Christmas Day in 1974, Cyclone Tracy roared through Darwin with 150 m.p.h. winds and a 19-foot storm surge that claimed 64 lives and injured thousands.
By Richard Koeneman, WGN-TV Meterorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
