August 1: ORD

Today is August 1st. It's the 214th day of the year. 152 days remain.

Unless noted, the following data is based upon observations collected by the National Weather Service, Chicago, at O'Hare International Airport (ORD) between November 1978 and last year. Observations have been official at O'Hare since Thursday, January 17, 1980.

According to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), the normal high is 83 and the normal low is 64. The 29-year averages are 86 and 65.

On the hot side, two years ago the high was 99 with the record warmest low of 80. In 1988 the record high of 100 occurred with the former record warmest low of 78. In 1987 the high was 97 with a low of 77. In 2002 the high was 94 with a low of 75. In 2001 the high was 92 with a low of 76. Other 90s highs include 95 in 1991, 92 last year and 90 in 1980. Another 70s low was 70 in 1995. 15 of the 29 highs so far have been 80s, eight have been 90s and five have been 70s. Nine straight years (1992-2000) were void of 90-degree highs.

On the cool side, in 1990 the high was 76 with the record low of 51 (the former record low was 52 in 1947). In 1985 the high was 75 with a low of 54. In 1979 the high was 70 with a low of 60. In 1996 the high was 76 with a low of 57. In 1992 the high was 78 with a low of 58. Other 50s lows include 57 in 1981 and 58 in 1998. The record coolest high of 66 was set way, way back in 1875. 17 lows have been in the 60s.

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 5:15 and sunrise is at 5:47. Sunset is at 20:12 and twilight ends at 20:43. Twilight begins at 5:16 tomorrow and sunrise is at 5:48. There's a total of 14 hours, 25 minutes of sunlight today and 15 hours, 28 minutes between twilights. The moon is new today at exactly 5:13. Illumination is 0% the entire day. Moonrise was at 5:52 and moonset is at 20:30. Moonlight time is 14 hours, 38 minutes today.

In 18 days, my tennis coach, Bob Finder, will be 76 years old. He is a testament that age has nothing to do with ability and performance. He is a master of the sport and is a shining example of the wealth of knowledge our elders can give us, provided we just take the time to listen. -Bernie