Geographer Dr. George Kimble once observed that, weatherwise, “September is a month of many virtues and few vices.”
Many Chicagoans might find Kimble’s generalization overly optimistic, but few will contest the splendid weather that the city is experiencing this weekend. Saturday’s sunny sky and temperatures in the 70s as well as Sunday’s readings in the 80s provide a perfect setting for outdoor activities.
However, late September has also delivered genuinely nasty weather in years past in other places. The temperature plunged to -9ºF at Yellowstone National Park on Sept. 24, 1926, and widespread freezing readings caused huge crop losses from Washington to Montana. A rare West Coast hurricane moved onshore south of Los Angeles on Sept. 25, 1939.
Finally, large hail killed several hundred Canada geese in Wisconsin’s Horicon Marsh on Sept. 30, 1993.
--By Richard Koeneman, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
