January 18: ORD

Today is January 18th. It's the 18th day of the year. 347 days remain. It's week 3 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 29 and the normal low is 14. The 30-year averages are 28 and 12.

On the warm side, in 1986 the high was 45 with a low of 34. A decade earlier, in 1996, the high was the record high of 61 with a low of 13, a 48 degree spread. In 1996 the former record high of 57 (1933) was broken early in the morning before the temperature dropped 48 degrees. It was one of the worst temperature drops in Chicago's history. In 1989 the high was 45 with a low of 28. Six years later, in 1995, the high was 43 with a low of 29. In 1981 the high was 43 with a low of 26. In 1988 the high was 36 with a low of 32, a four degree spread. The record warmest low of 47 was set in 1973. Other warm lows were 27 in 1990 and 26 in 1980. 20 of the last 30 highs were: 20s (10) and 30s (10). On the warmer side, four highs were 40s and one high was in the 60s. There's been no 50s highs. On the colder side, five highs were: 10s (2), single digits (2) and one negative 10. There were no highs in the negative single digits.

In looking back through the years to the first January at O'Hare in 1959, the following instances were notable. In 1974 the high was 42 with a low of 35, a seven degree spread. In 1969 the high was 35 with a low of 30, a five degree spread. In 1968 the high was 38 with a low of 32, a six degree spread. In 1967 the high was 11 with a low of -11, a cold day. In 1962 the high was 6 with a low of -6, another cold day. In 1960 the high was 32 with a low of 25, a seven degree spread.

On the cold side, in 1994 the high was the record coldest high of -11 with the record low of -21. This high of -11 ties the record for the coldest high ever with December 24, 1983. Other lows in 1994 were: Lake Villa: -26; Aurora, DeKalb and Marengo: -24; Rockford and Elgin: -23; Waukegan and Wheaton: -22; Midway: -20. A decade earlier, in 1984, the high was 8 with a low of -10. In 1997 the high was 6 with a low of -5. Five years earlier, in 1992, the high was 11 with a low of -1. In 1979 the high was 23 with a low of -8. Another cold low was 1 in 2005. 23 of the last 30 lows were: single digits (9), 10s (6) and 20s (8). Five lows were colder: negative 20s (1), negative 10s (1) and negative single digits (3). Two lows were in the warmer 30s.

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 6:47 and sunrise is at 7:18. Sunset is at 16:50 and twilight ends at 17:21. There's a total of 9 hours, 32 minutes of daylight today and 10 hours, 34 minutes between twilights. Tomorrow twilight begins at 6:47 and sunrise is at 7:17. The moon is waning crescent and reached last quarter last night at 20:46. Illumination was 49% at midnight, will be 44% at noon and 39% at midnight tonight. Moonrise was at 0:50 and moonset is at 10:55. Moonrise is at 1:55 tomorrow. Moonlight time is 10 hours, 5 minutes.

And now a note about the consecutive days of measurable snowfall record. The record (until this month) was eight consecutive days set from December 13-20 in 1973. This month we had nine. The amounts and days were: 6th (1.2), 7th (0.8), 8th (0.1), 9th (3.6), 10th (8.4), 11th (0.1), 12th (1.5), 13th (0.1) and 14th (2.2) for a total of 18 inches.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is tomorrow. The Presidential inauguration is in two days. My brother will be celebrating a birthday in six days. -Bernie-