Temperatures in Chicago have reached the 60s only 32 times since official observations began here 134 years ago. That means fewer than two in 10 Januarys have been as mild as Wednesday. Yesterday’s official 62° high tied a 115-year old record (set in 1890) and was the city’s warmest January reading here in 8 years—since the 64° high on January 4, 1997. A 62° reading is equal to the normal high temp here on April 25.
Powerful t-storms swept a narrow corridor of the metro area, from Kendall County northeast into Cook County Wednesday morning. But by evening, a far more substantial squall line swept into the area from the west producing driving downpours, winds which gusted as high as 64 m.p.h. at west suburban Sugar Grove Airport and cloud to ground lightning at a rate of 60 to 120 strokes every 10 minutes. Overnight rains of up to 1.50” threatened to push rivers, already swollen by Wednesday’s snowmelt runoff, to flood stage.
-Tom Skilling
