August 3: ORD

Today is August 3rd. It's the 216th day of the year. 150 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 64.

On the hot side, in 1988 the high was 96 with the record warmest low of 80. In 2005 the high was 93 with a low of 74. In 1987 the high was 96 with a low of 70. Other 90s include 96 in 1983, 95 in 1982, 91 in 1997 and 90 (1989, 2002, 2004 and last year). Other 70s lows were 71 in 1995 and 70 (1989, 1998). The record high of 98 was set in 1964. 15 of the 29 highs have been in the 80s (ten 90s). A dual day (a day when the high and low are notable, but the mean is near normal) occurred in 1995. The high was 78 with a low of 71.

On the cool side, in 2000 the high was 72 with a low of 54. In 1985 the high was 81 with a low of 50. In 1992 the high was 76 with a low of 56. Other 70s highs include 78 in 1995 and 79 in 2003. Other cool 50s lows include 56 (1986, 1994, 1996) and 59 (1999, 2002). The record coolest high of 63 was set in 1927. The record low of 48 was set in 1894. 15 of the 29 lows have been 60s and there have been eight in the 50s. Another dual day was in 2002 when the high was 90 with a low of 59. In 2003, it rained heavily, causing the Kennedy to flood. IDOT had to close down the expressway at Lawrence at 14:15. 4-6 feet of water there. 0.68 inches coming in a burst at O'Hare.

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 5:17 and sunrise is at 5:49. Sunset is at 20:10 and twilight ends at 20:41. There's a total of 14 hours, 21 minutes of daylight today and 15 hours, 24 minutes between twilights. The moon was new as of 5:13 Friday. Illumination was 4% at midnight and 7% at noon. Moonrise is at 8:22 and moonset is at 21:18.

In 16 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