Temperatures reach 32° here for the first time in over 4 days this afternoon in what has been the coldest December open since 1976. The first four days of the month have averaged 18.5°—a reading 13.8° below the 30-year norm and also cold enough to qualify among the ten coldest Dec. 1-4 periods since records began here 136 years ago in 1870.
Tuesday’s predicted 33° high, while chilly—particularly in light of the day’s gusty SW winds—actually marks an improvement over Sunday’s record breaking 15° high and Monday’s 26° reading. Only two days all last winter were colder than the 15° recorded Sunday. A reading that cold typically doesn’t occur here until Dec. 30.
More than a dozen cities across eight states recorded new record lows Monday morning including 0° downstate in Springfield and 22° at Dallas, Texas.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist
