A Chicago general Election Day hasn't been as warm as the 72-degree high predicted
Tuesday in 44 years -- since a 75-degree high was recorded here Nov. 3, 1964. That's
the year Barry Goldwater faced Lyndon Johnson for the presidency. Weather records
reveal that warm weather and Election Days don't often go together in Chicago. Of 39
Election Days since 1872, only two have posted 70-degree temps. Not only will area
voters enjoy September-level warmth, Tuesday afternoon's 72-degree high is within
striking distance of the day's 74-degree record set 30 years ago and is nearly 20
degrees above normal. The area is in the midst of a three-day string of 70s, something
that's happened only six times since the first weather observations were taken at
Midway Airport in 1928. Monday's 73-degree highs at O'Hare and Midway were the
city's warmest in a November in 8 years. Only 26 of the 80 Novembers on the books at
Midway since 1928 have managed a temp 73 degrees or higher.
WINTRY WEATHER OUT WEST HINTS AT CHILL TO COME HERE
Accumulating snow at higher elevations of 8 states out West is the first stage of a pat-
tern shift that will cool Chicago late week.
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
