Chicago's winter of 1954-55

Dear Tom,
I have memories of the oppressively hot Chicago summer of 1954. What kind of
winter followed?
John Jacob, Oak Park
Dear John,
The summer of 1954 was indeed a hot one in Chicago with 36 days when the
mercury reached 90 degrees or higher. There was one day of triple-digit
heat: June 25 with a maximum temperature of 100. The winter that followed
was one of Chicago's warmer ones, averaging 28.5 degrees or nearly 2 degrees
above the long-term winter average temperature of 26.7 degrees. It ranks as
the 46th warmest of 138 Chicago winters since 1870-71. Snowfall was subpar
with a season total of only 32.2 inches, substantially below the city's
current normal of about 40 inches. The snowiest month was December with 8.2
inches, followed by 6.5 inches in both January and February.