The past two weeks have been brutal here. Chicagoans have braved six consecutive subzero nights while Rockford (and presumably far west suburban) residents by Saturday morning will have shivered through a February record-tying eight consecutive subzero nighttime lows.
By late Friday, the stubborn arctic air mass which has gripped the area, producing a string of subfreezing days since Jan. 27, had slashed mild winter 2006-07’s temperature ranking by 50 slots—reducing it from 9th to 59th mildest of the past 137 years. The once impressive 6.2-degree Chicago winter surplus has all but vanished. The season is now only 1.3 degrees above normal, a surplus likely to keep slipping despite a brief moderation in the next few days.
For five short hours beginning at 11 a.m. Friday, Chicago’s wind chills moved into positive territory after 165 consecutive hours (nearly seven days) below subzero.
--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.
