Chicago’s remarkable 42-day run of above normal temperatures, one of the city’s five longest in 136 years, is running out of steam. Only five strings of daily temperature surpluses have lasted longer in Chicago —the longest among them, one spanning 54-days in 1921, 52-days in 1931, 50 days in 1989, 49-days in 1998 and 44-days in 1947.
Not a single day in the Chicago area since Dec. 22 has fallen below normal. Thursday’s predicted 40s—and even Friday’s marginally reduced readings in the upper 30s--promise to keep the string of above normal daily temperature averages going two more days. But cooling this weekend promises the first temperature deficits in over 6 weeks, albeit modest ones in the early stages of the pattern change.
As any Chicagoan knows, February is perfectly capable of producing frigid weather. A quarter of the single digit or sub-zero temperatures have occurred historically beyond Feb. 2.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
