Airborne snow riding the highest winds here in over a year Friday slashed visibilities to near zero in open areas surrounding the city. For 17 consecutive hours, wind sensors at O’Hare registered 30+ m.p.h. gusts, including a peak gust of 43 m.p.h. A 50 m.p.h. gust at Midway Airport 2:31 p.m. Friday afternoon was the site’s strongest in 14 months. The Harrison-Dever crib three miles offshore clocked gusts as high as 58 m.p.h.
While snow fell heavily enough to slash visibilities below 1/4 mile with some regularity, accumulations—challenging to determine in such a wind-whipped environment—totaled just 0.8” at Midway and 0.6” at O’Hare. It was another world to the west and north. Snow totals had reached 25” at Finland, Minn., (near Duluth) late Friday. Bayfield, Wis., registered 21.5”, and Lake Superior ice had piled into 25-foot high mounds in the howling winds at Duluth where 19.4” was tallied.
By contrast, Melbourne, Fla.’s 92° shattered a March 2 record. Other record highs occurred Friday at Vero Beach (91°) and Orlando (89°) in Florida.
--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.
