September 10: ORD

Today is September 10th. It's the 254th day of the year. 112 days remain. It's week 37 of the year.

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 76 and the normal low is 56. The 29-year averages are 79 and 58.

On the hot side, in 1983 the high was the record high of 95 with a low of 67. In 1986 the high was 90 with a low of 70. In 2005 the high was 92 with a low of 67. In 2000 the high was 84 with a low of 72. The other hot highs were 89 in 2002 and 87 in 1990. The record warmest low of 75 was set in 1912. 21 of the 29 highs have been in the 70s (9) and 80s (12). In 1988, there was a 36 degree difference between the high and low (high of 86, low of 50).

On the cool side, in 1995 the high was 64 with a low of 46. In 1993 the high was 65 with a low of 47. The other cool highs were 64 two years ago, 68 in 1992 and 69 in 1985. The other cool lows were 48 in back to back years of 1998 and 1999. The record low of 44 was set in 1943 and the record coolest high of 53 was set in 1917. 23 of the 29 lows have been 50s (10) and 60s (13).

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 6:00 and sunrise is at 6:29. Sunset is at 19:11 and twilight ends at 19:39. Twilight begins tomorrow at 6:01 and sunrise is at 6:30. There's a total of 12 hours, 42 minutes of daylight today and 13 hours, 39 minutes between twilights. The moon is waxing gibbous. Illumination was 74% at midnight, will be 79% at noon and 82% at midnight tonight. Moonrise is at 16:54 and moonset is at 2:15 tomorrow. Moonlight time is 8 hours, 16 minutes today.

Patriot Day is tomorrow. My eldest sister, Mary Ann, and her husband William, will be celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary in three days. Another sister, Maria, and her husband Buddy will be celebrating their seventh wedding anniversary in four days. Both couples currently reside in Tampa, home of those amazing Rays. Constitution Day, also known as Citizenship day, is in seven days. This is a newer holiday, having been enacted by Congress just four years ago. The website "www.patriotism.org" says that Constitution Day is "a birthday for our country and it serves as a means for American citizens to express their pride in their citizenship. Constitution Day also designates a time to honor the Constitution of America and learn more about the famous piece of legislation." -Bernie-