January 15: ORD

Today is January 15th. It's the 15th day of the year. 350 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 32-year averages are 28 and 13.

On the warm side, in 1990 the high was 53 with a low of 27. A decade earlier, in 1980, the high was 47 with a low of 32. In 2006 the high was 45 with a low of 27. Six years earlier, in 2000, the high was 42 with a low of 26. Five years before that, in 1995, the high was 36 with a low of 30, a six degree spread. Six years after that, in 2001, the high was 35 with a low of 31, a four degree spread. Other warm lows were 30 in 2002 and 27 in 1987. The record high of 60 was set in 1949 and the record warmest low of 40 was set way back in 1894. 21 of the last 32 highs (66%) were: 20s (9) and 30s (12). On the warmer side, four highs were: 40s (3) and 50s (1). On the cold side, five highs were in the 10s (aka teens) and two were in the negative single digits. Two years ago the high was minus 1, rivaling 1994's minus 4.

In looking back through the years to the first January at O'Hare in 1959, the following instances were notable: In 1978 the high was 18 with a cold low of -1, a cold day. In 1977 the high was 18 with a cold low of -10, a cold day. In 1976 the high was 37 with a low of 7, a 30 degree spread. In 1974 the high was 40 with a warm low of 28, a warm day. In 1973 the high was 36 with a warm low of 33, a three degree spread and warm day. In 1972 the high was -9 with a low of -17, a very cold day. 1972 was the year of the record coldest high of -5 at Midway. That high of -9 was colder than the record, but O'Hare was not the official station of record for Chicago in 1972. In 1965 the high was 21 with a low of 15, a six degree spread. In 1963 the high was 0 with a low of -19, another very cold day. That low of -19 at O'Hare equals the record low of -19 set at Midway Airport in 1979. In 1961 the high was 34 with a warm low of 30, a four degree spread. In 1959 the high was 34 with a cold low of 1, a 33 degree spread.

More recently, we had small spreads of four degrees in 2002 (34/30) and seven degrees in 1998 (31/24). In 1986 the spread was a large 33 degrees (37/4).

On the cold side, in 1994 the high was -4 with a low of -17. Fifteen years later, in 2009, the high was -1 with a low of -13. Thirty years earlier, in 1979, the high was 11 with a low of -17. Three years later, in 1982, the high was 14 with a low of -9. Another three years later, in 1985, the high was 13 with a low of -4. In 1992 the high was 20 with a low of -10, a 30 degree spread. In 1984 the high was 17 with a low of 0. In 2005 the high was 15 with a low of 4. The record low of -19 was set at Midway in 1979. The record coldest high of -5 was set in 1972 (also at Midway). Other lows in 1979 were -17 at O'Hare, -20 at Barrington and Wheaton, -21 at NIU in DeKalb, -22 west of Crystal Lake at Marengo and -24 at Rockford and Elgin. 22 of the last 32 lows (69%) were: single digits (5), 10s (6) and 20s (11). Six lows were in the cold: negative 10s (4) and negative single digits (2). Four lows were in the warmer 30s. Through Winter 2010-11, this is the average second coldest day of the year.

Today is a major day in O'Hare's snow history. In 1979, 1.6 inches fell. This was the fifth day of a 21.7 inch, seven day stretch of snow. This storm changed Chicago politics. The slow response that the city had to cleaning up after the storm was blamed on Mayor Michael Bilandic and his administration. This caused him to lose in the primary election to the eventual new mayor, Jayne Byrne. At O'Hare on the 13th, 15.3 inches fell while at Midway, 16.5 inches fell. This blizzard closed down the city for several days.

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 6:49 and sunrise is at 7:20. Sunset is at 16:46 and twilight ends at 17:17. There's a total of 9 hours, 26 minutes of daylight today and 10 hours, 28 minutes between twilights. We gained a minute of daylight from yesterday. Tomorrow twilight begins at 6:48 and sunrise is at 7:19. The moon is waxing gibbous. Illumination was 76% at midnight, will be 80% at noon and 84% at midnight tonight. Moonset is at 3:23 this morning. Moonrise is at 12:44 this afternoon. Moonset is at 4:24 tomorrow morning. Moonlight time is 14 hours, 39 minutes which is 21 minutes longer than yesterday.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is in two days. -Bernie-