December nears its mid-point continuing to feel more like mid to late November. Sunshine will be plentiful Friday—something of a novelty in December, which is typically the area’s cloudiest month. To date, the month has logged 53% of its possible sun, well above the 39% considered normal. If that trend were to continue, December would become the first month in the past eight (since April) to receive more than its normal share of sun.
Thursday’s 53° high at Midway Airport was the second mildest Dec. 14 high since 1928. Only the 66° high on the date in 1975 was warmer. It marked the third 50° high this month at the South Side site—something that’s happened in December’s opening two weeks in only 17 other years. But, Saturday appears set to become the warmest day of the current mild cycle. A 60° would not only tie the record for the date set 22 years ago, it would mark only the 70th time in the past 137 years December has seen a 60°-plus reading.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
