Chicago’s official low temperature dropped to -7º Saturday morning at O’Hare, cold to be sure, but not an atypical reading for a Chicago winter. What was unusual was the fact that the mercury fell below zero with no snow on the ground for only the 22nd time in Chicago out of 865 sub-0° occurrences since late 1884. It was the first time this has happened here since a bare-ground low of -8º on Dec. 14, 1985. Saturday morning lows plunged to the -15º to -20º range over deeply snow-covered southern Wisconsin, values that would have been common here had the city not been spared last week’s snowfall.
Saturday’s cold was accompanied by a sky-high 30.76” barometer, the highest value here since a 30.86” reading on Jan. 17, 2005.
After today’s subzero start, a warm-up will commence that will see temperatures rebound into the lower 40s later this week, before another cold blast descends upon the city by next weekend.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
