Dear Tom,
Your recently stated that our highest temperature so far this year has only been 91
degrees. Has Chicago ever had a year without a 90?
Rich Pokorski Morton Grove, Bob Ebersold Berwyn
Dear Rich and Bob,
Checking Chicago weather records dating back to 1871 there has been only one year
where the mercury failed to reach 90 degrees. In 1875 the highest official temperature
was 89 degrees logged on June 11. In those days the city's official thermometer was
located downtown, very close to Lake Michigan, so it is almost a certainty that inland
areas did reach the 90s. Forty years later in 1915, the city came close to another year
without a 90. But during a late-season hot spell, the mercury spiked to 90 degrees on
Sept. 14. Since the city's official thermometer was moved inland in 1942, the fewest
90s in a year have been two in 1979, three in 2004 and four each in 1967 and 2000.
