Rains drenched Chicago a second time in just four days Monday, dumping 1.01 inches
at Midway Airport and 1.22 inches at O'Hare International Airport. Monday's dousing
pushed the official O'Hare monthly tally to 4.15 inches, the second wettest in 138 years
and wettest since 1894. Temperatures, which had struggled to reach 67 degrees late
morning, tumbled to the mid-50s as the rain arrived -- levels more typical of
November.
ASTRONOMERS MARVELING AT QUIET STATE OF THE SUN
Only four years ago, sunspots -- the product of intense storms on the surface of our
nearest star -- were at a 1,000 year high. It's been 14 months since the last significant
solar eruption, reports astronomer Dan Joyce. Some in the astronomy community report
the past month has been the first to be free of sunspots in 95 years. Energy from the
sun declines slightly in such periods. The Maunder Minimum, an extended period void
of sunspots in the late 17th Century, may have played a role in a global temperature
decline that caused the Thames River in London to freeze and European harvests to fail.
There is no consensus on how long the current solar lull may last, but some scientists
believe it may end in the next half year.
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
