Frost and a near record chill greet area residents Tuesday morning. The 30° record low for May 3 was set just a year ago. This cold air has origins more than two thousand miles to the north over Canada’s arctic coast and is responsible for Chicago’s coldest May open here in 65 years. Not since World War II have May 1 and 2 been colder. Monday’s chill was intense enough to allow snow pellets to fall—the first time snow has fallen here in May since a "trace” (less than 0.1”) occurred on May 10, 1990.
Snow pellets are different in appearance and texture than the typical snowflake. They reach the ground as small, irregularly-shaped kernels of ice, having started as snowflakes in the clouds. The edges of such flakes melt as they encounter a layer of above-freezing temps creating the “pellet-like” appearance.
May 2 has been colder here on only three other occasions since 1871. Monday’s 44° high temperature was 20° below normal.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
