Monday’s 33° high was 40 degrees warmer than the bone-chilling -7° low on Saturday—the coldest single February temperature here in a decade. While an impressive turnaround, temperature surges of that magnitude in the space of three February days are not unusual. The month has hosted 195 such thermal rebounds since records began here in 1871.
The chill of the most recent four days, while hardly a record, was formidable. The downturn ended up producing the coldest Feb. 17-20 period on the books since 1979. It was especially jarring because it came in the midst of an unseasonably mild winter. Up to the time of its arrival late this past Thursday night, Chicagoans had basked in nearly seven weeks of substantially milder than normal temperatures before the late-season arctic air crashed into the area on powerful winds. But, even with the recent chill factored in, this winter’s 28.8° average still ranks among the mildest 27 percent in Chicago.
—Tom Skilling, WGN-TV meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
