August 8: ORD

Today is August 8th. It's the 221st day of the year. 145 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 82 and the normal low is 64. The 29-year averages are 84 and 65.

On the hot side, in 1983 the high was 98 with a low of 72. In 1988 the high was 99 with a low of 70. In 2001 the high was 93 with a low of 76. In 1980 the high was 90 with a low of 75. Another 90s high was 93 in 2005. 17 highs have been 80s, seven highs have been 70s and only five highs in the 90s. The record high of 100 was set in 1934 and the record warmest low of 76 was set way back in 1896.

On the cool side, in 1989 the high was 77 with a low of 53. In 1999 the high was 72 with a low of 59. The other low 70s high was 72 in 1991. Of the seven lows in the 50s, none have been in the lower 50s. The record low of 52 was set in 1976 and the record coolest high of 62 was set way back in 1884. 22 of the 29 lows have been 60s (12) and 70s (10).

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 5:23 and sunrise is at 5:54. Sunset is at 20:03 and twilight ends at 20:34. Twilight tomorrow is at 5:24 and sunrise is at 5:55. There's a total of 14 hours, 9 minutes of daylight today and 15 hours, 11 minutes between twilights. The moon is waxing crescent and will reach first quarter today at 15:20. Illumination was 44% at midnight, will be 49% at noon and 54% at midnight tonight. Moonrise is at 13:55 today and sets at 23:17. There's 9 hours, 22 minutes of moonlight today.

In 11 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-