February 8: ORD

Today is February 8th. It's the 39th day of the year. 327 days remain. It's week 6 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. Before this, the official site was on the south side of Chicago at Midway International Airport (MDW), beginning on Wednesday, July 1, 1942. Before that, the official site was at various locations in Chicago going back to Monday, October 16, 1871. Observations taken from October 15, 1870 to October 8, 1871 were lost in the Great Chicago Fire.

According to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), the normal high is 33 and the normal low is 18. I've calculated the 33-year averages at 31 and 15.

On the warm side, in 1990 the high was the near-record high of 61 with a low of 37. 1990 was O'Hare's warmest February 8th. That low of 37 also occurred in 1966 and are O'Hare's warmest lows of the date. The record high of 62, set back in 1925, is the same day in which the record warmest low of 54 occurred. This record high of 62 was originally set back in 1900. In 1900, as in 1925, the official readings were taken adjacent to Lake Michigan. In 2001 the high was 53 with a low of 34. Five years earlier, in 1996, the high was 45 with a low of 35. The other warm highs were 48 in 1999 and 46 in 1987. 19 of the past 33 highs (58%) were in the: 30s (12) and 40s (7). On the warm side, two highs (6%) were in the: 50s (1) and 60s (1). O'Hare had one of it's warmest highs of 52 in 1966. On the cold side, 12 highs (36%) were in the: 10s (a.k.a. teens) (7) and 20s (5). O'Hare's pre-1979 cold highs were 12 in 1972 and 13 in 1971.

In looking back through the years to the first February at O'Hare in 1959, the following instances were notable: In 1978 the low was a cold 4 degrees. The following five years in a row (1971-1975) were cold days. In 1975 the high was 21 with a low of 4. In 1974 the high was 21 with a low of 5. In 1973 the high was 19 with a low of 5. In 1972 the high was 12 with a low of -4. In 1971 the high was 13 with a low of 1. In 1970 the high was 36 with a warm low of 34, a two degree spread. In 1969 the high was 35 with a warm low of 30, a five degree spread. In 1967 the high was 27 with a cold low of -1, a cold day. In 1966 the high was 52 with a low of 37, a warm day. In 1962 the low was a cold 6 degrees.

More recently, there was a small spread of three degrees in 1994 (17/14).

On the cold side, in 2007 the high was 11 with a low of -4. In 1979 the high was 11 with a low of -3. Those highs of 11 are O'Hare's coldest highs of the date. In 1985 the high was 18 with a low of -6 (O'Hare's coldest low of the date). Four years later, in 1989, the high was 19 with a low of 2. Last year, in 2011, the high was 20 with a low of 2. In 1982 the high was 22 with a low of 1. A year earlier, in 1981, the high was 18 with a low of 5. In 1995 the high was 19 with a low of 5. In 1988 the high was 23 with a low of 6. The other cold low was 5 in 2004 and the other cold high was 17 in 1994. The record low of -17 was set way back in 1899 and the record coldest high of 0 occurred way back in 1895. Both records were set at a time when the official readings were taken adjacent to Lake Michigan. 27 of the last 33 lows (82%) were in the: single digits (9), 10s (a.k.a. teens) (7) and 20s (11). Our most recent 10s low was 10 in 2003. Even colder, three lows were in the negative single digits. Prior to 1979, O'Hare's cold lows were -4 in 1972 and -1 in 1967. On the warm side, three lows were in the 30s.

There were two instances of back-to-back years in which temperatures were just about as opposite as they can be. In the first instance, in 1989 the high was 19 with a low of 2, overall 15.5 degrees BELOW normal. Then in 1990 the high was 61 with a low of 37, overall 23 degrees ABOVE normal. In the second instance, in 1995 the high was 19 with a low of 5, overall 14 degrees BELOW normal. Then in 1996 the high was 45 with a low of 35, overall 14 degrees ABOVE normal.

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 6:30 and sunrise is at 6:59. Sunset is at 17:16 and twilight ends at 17:45. There's a total of 10 hours, 17 minutes of daylight today and 11 hours, 15 minutes between twilights. We gained two minutes of daylight from yesterday. Tomorrow twilight begins at 6:29 and sunrise is at 6:58. The moon is waning gibbous, having passed full yesterday as the full Snow (a.k.a. Hunger) moon at 15:54. Illumination was 100% at midnight, will be 99% at noon and 98% at midnight tonight. Moonset is at 7:00 this morning. Moonrise is at 18:38 tonight. Moonset is at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Moonlight time is 12 hours, 22 minutes which is 39 minutes shorter than yesterday.

Winter began December 1st and runs for 102 days through March 11th. High temperatures in this period are usually in the 20s and 30s. Highs in the 40s and 50s occur infrequently. Abraham Lincoln's Birthday is in four days. Valentine's Day is in six days. Susan B. Anthony Day is in seven days.