Sunshine, relatively mild temperatures and light winds on Christmas Day offered a welcome demonstration that interludes of decent weather, at least on a relative basis, do occur here in December. While noting that December is our cloudiest month, Chicago weather historian Frank Wachowski reports that the sun detector at the Midway Airport weather observation station has logged only 3,492 minutes of sunshine this month (through Dec. 25) versus a normal of 13,825 minutes for that period.
Santa Ana winds, an ever-recurring problem for southern California, roared through the Los Angeles area during the Christmas holiday. Los Angeles County's Whitaker Peak registered sustained winds of 55 m.p.h. with gusts to 102 m.p.h. on Christmas Eve. Nearby Malibu was buffeted by gusts to 78 m.p.h. early Christmas morning.
--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.
