Monday's 69 degrees was Chicago's warmest official high in nine days -- a welcome
development in an October that has averaged nearly 16 degrees cooler than a year ago.
The month's opening six days have been the coolest of any October in four years. The
day's southeasterly winds limited Monday's warmest readings to inland areas. Weather
records suggest it may be three weeks before 70s disappear from the scene here. Over
the last 10 years, Oct. 26 has been the average date of the year's final reading in the
70s -- though a 72-degree high occurred Nov. 18, 1999.
The fall harvest is under way on many area farms, though well behind the five-year
average on a statewide basis. The USDA reported Monday that 10 percent of the state's
corn and 22 percent of its soybeans have been harvested -- well behind the respective
averages of 47 percent and 48 percent over the last five years.
SOUTHBOUND ALASKAN CHILL TO SET STAGE FOR BIG ROCKIES/PLAINS
SNOW
The season's coldest air dropped the temperature at Anaktuvak Pass in Alaska's Brooks
Range to 7 degrees. The southward plunge of that cold air sets the stage for a Rockies
and western Plains snowstorm.
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
