Chicago Winter Weather Wonderland

Winter in Chicago. Gotta love it. Why do we put up with it? Because it makes us appreciate the other three seasons? That is probably the most common response when I question our sanity. I’ve lived here my entire life and every so often we have a winter like this that makes me wonder. Maybe you can help me out. I’ve been spending some time online trying to find out this years winter statistics. Total amount of snow? Total number of snowfalls? Total days below zero? Total days with no sunshine? Total nights I’ve cried myself to sleep because I’M FREEZING? I actaully know that answer to that last question. Moving on…..let me know if you have a good websites with that information.In my search for these statistics I did come across some fun (if you’re a dork like me) trivia regarding Chicago and winter. I left all the warm weather statistics off because it makes me sad. I’ll write about those when I’m complaining how hot and humid it is in August. What can I say? I’m tough to please. These stats were taken from from WGN’s official weather website. So here is what I found, enjoy!

• Chicago snow: On January 14, 1979, Chicago was in the midst of a 7-day period (Jan. 11-17) during which 25.6 inches of snow blanketed the city; daily totals: 0.3, 1.9, 16.5, 2.3, 2.0, 0.3, 2.3.
• Chicago temperature surprise: Based on Midway and O’Hare data, daily high temperatures in the 60s occur more often in the city during December than during July.
• Chicago’s -20 degree days: Of the 36,524 days in the 20th Century, Chicago’s temperature has fallen to -20 or lower on only ten of them: Jan. 10, 1982(-26); Jan. 16, 1982 (-25); Jan. 17, 1982 (-23); Dec. 23, 1983 (-21); Dec. 24, 1983 (-25); Jan. 20, 1984 (-20); Jan 21, 1984 (-22); Jan. 19, 1985 (-23); Jan. 20, 1985 (-27); Jan. 18, 1994 (-21).
• Chicago’s autumn snow records: In records dating from 1884, Chicago’s earliest trace of snow: September 25 in 1928 and also 1942; earliest inch of snow: 1.8 inches on October 19, 1989 (recorded at Midway Airport).
• Chicago’s average cold arrival dates in autumn: Using Midway data (1928-2003), Chicago experiences its first autumn temperature in the 30s on Oct. 5; freezing (32 degrees) on Oct. 23; in the 20s on Nov. 2.
• Chicago’s average first freeze date: The average date of Chicago’s first freezing temperature in the autumn varies considerably across the metropolitan area, occurring earliest in outlying areas and latest downtown. The range is from October 11 (O’Hare) to November 6 (Loop).
• Chicago’s winter temperature extremes: Based on official temperature records dating from 1871, the city’s highest winter temperature is 75 degrees (February 27, 1976) and the lowest is -27 (January 20, 1985); that is a range of 102 degrees.
• Chicago’s snow season: July and August are the city’s only totally snow-free months. Traces of snow have fallen as late as June 2, 1910, and as early as September 25, 1928 and 1942. Because June is considered to be a summer month, it is true that snow has occurred here in every season.
• Chicago’s snow extremes: Greatest snowstorm, 23.0 inches January 26-27, 1967; snowiest and least-snowy winters, 89.7 inches 1978/79 and 9.8 inches 1920/21; greatest snow depth on ground, 29 inches January 14, 1979.
• Chicago’s lowest wind-chill temperature: Bitterly cold temperatures and vicious winds gripped Chicago on January 20, 1985. Early-morning temperatures between -20 and -27 in combination with biting northwest winds 25 to 35 m.p.h. briefly produced a wind-chill temperature of -93 degrees, the lowest ever recorded in Chicago.