With just two days remaining in the month, August 2008 has hosted 77 percent of its
possible sunshine -- the second consecutive month this summer to do so. It's a
sunshine tally well above the 66 percent average and far ahead of last year's 57 percent.
It becomes the sunniest August to occur here in 22 years, and this weekend's sunny
weather is likely to make it the sunniest in 25 years by the time the books close at
midnight Sunday.
Chicago's official rainfall has been a fraction of last August's: 3.73 inches vs. 9.70
inches. Rain has fallen less than a third as frequently (five days vs. 16) in August
compared to a year ago. It's a far cry from the rainy manner the three-month June, July
and August meteorological summer period began. Rain isn't predicted here until the
middle of the week at the earliest.
GUSTAV MOVING OVER DEEP, WARM WATERS AND EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY
Nervous Gulf Coast residents are watching Hurricane Gustav, currently packing 80
m.p.h. top winds as it approaches the warm, deep waters between Cuba and the
Yucatan Peninsula where it is expected to become a major hurricane with winds in
excess of 110 m.p.h.
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
