February 2007 still among Chicago’s coldest despite temp surge

Temperatures soared to 50° Wednesday on Chicago’s lakefront and at Gary. The warmth sent metro area temps above 40° a third consecutive day—the first time that’s happened since early January. Despite the recent string of above normal readings, this month is averaging only 13.5° making it the 6th coldest February on record here since 1871 and the coldest February in nearly three decades. The chill has had a major effect on furnace usage. Estimates of home heating based on the month’s temps to date suggest usage has soared 36% in Chicago, a harbinger of significantly higher heating bills—a trend which has been observed across the entire Midwest. The thick fog which preceded Wednesday’s warmth slashed visibilities to 1/16 of a mile just before 7am at Midway Airport and to 100 ft. in sections of northern Indiana, where a coating of frost covered trees and other cold outdoor surfaces. —By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist