November 5: ORD

Today is November 5th. It's the 310th day of the year. 56 days remain. It's week 45 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 53 and the normal low is 35. The 30-year averages are 51 and 35.

On the warm side, in 1978 the high was the record high of 78 (officially 79 at Midway) with a low of 47 (a 31 degree spread). In 1999 the high was 67 with a low of 43. A decade earlier, in 1989, the high was 61 with a low of 48. In 1994 the high was 60 with a low of 49. In 2005 the high was 62 with a low of 46. The record warmest low of 54 was set in 1956. 25 of the 30 highs have been 40s (11), 50s (8) and 60s (6). Four highs have been 30s and just one high (in 1978) made it into the 70s.

In looking back through the years to the first November at O'Hare in 1958, the following instances were notable. In 1974 the high was 45 with a low of 40 (a five degree spread). In 1965 the high was 66 with a low of 28 (a 38 degree spread). In 1964 the high was 59 with a low of 29 (a 30 degree spread).

More recently, in 1983 the large spread was 30 degrees as the high was 58 with a low of 28. In 2002 the spread was seven degrees (41/34) and five degrees in 1998 (41/36).

On the cool side, in 1991 the high was 38 with a low of 17. Four years later in 1995 the high was 37 with a low of 20. In 1984 the high was 40 with a low of 23. In 1982 the high was 34 with a low of 30 (a four degree spread). A decade later, in 1992, the high was 36 with a low of 30 (a six degree spread). Other cool highs were 41 in both 1998 and 2002. 16 of the 30 lows have been in the 30s. Eight lows have been in the 40s, five in the 20s and one in the 10s (in 1991).

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 6:03 and sunrise is at 6:32. Sunset is at 16:41 and twilight ends at 17:11. Twilight begins tomorrow at 6:04 and sunrise is at 6:33. There's a total of 10 hours, 9 minutes of daylight today and 11 hours, 8 minutes between twilights. The moon reaches first quarter today at 22:03. Illumination was 41% at midnight, will be 46% at noon and 51% at midnight tonight. Moonrise is at 12:50 this afternoon and moonset is at 22:56 tonight. Moonlight time is 10 hours, 6 minutes today.

Veteran's Day is in six days. My sister-in-law celebrates a birthday in nine days. -Bernie-