September 12: ORD

Today is September 12th. It's the 256th day of the year. 110 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 75 and the normal low is 55. The 29-year averages are 79 and 57.

On the hot side, in 2005 the high was our first and only 90s high (since 1979) of 90 degrees with a low of 68. In 1988 the high was 85 with a low of 67. In 1994 the high was 87 with a low of 65. In 1979 the high was 87 with a low of 64. The other hot high was 88 in 1998. The record high of 96 was set in 1952 and the record warmest low of 72 was set in 1931. 24 of the 29 highs have been in the 70s (11) and 80s (13).

On the cool side, in 1985 the high was 66 with a low of 46. Last year the high was 67 with a low of 46. The other cool highs were 67 in both 1989 and 1996. The other cool lows were 48 (1992 and 1997) and 49 in 2002. The record low of 44 was set in 1955 and the record coolest high of 53 was set in 1902. 24 of the 29 lows have been 50s (12) and 60s (12).

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 6:02 and sunrise is at 6:31. Sunset is at 19:07 and twilight ends at 19:36. Twilight begins tomorrow at 6:03 and sunrise is at 6:32. There's a total of 12 hours, 36 minutes of daylight today and 13 hours, 34 minutes between twilights. The moon is waxing gibbous. Illumination was 89% at midnight, will be 92% at noon and 95% at midnight tonight. Moonrise is at 17:51 and moonset is at 4:31 tomorrow. Moonlight time is 9 hours, 31 minutes today.

My eldest sister Mary Ann, and her husband, William, will be celebrating their sixth wedding annniversary tomorrow. Another sister, Maria, and her huband Buddy will be celebrating their seventh wedding anniversary in two days. Both couples currently reside in Tampa, home to those amazing Rays.

Constitution Day, also known as Citizenship day, is in five 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-