October 20: ORD

Today is October 20th. It's the 294th day of the year. 72 days remain. It's week 42 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. ORD has been the official site of record for Chicago 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. From Friday, January 1, 1926 through Tuesday, June 30, 1942, the official site was at the University of Chicago. Before this, 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 61 and the normal low is 42. I've calculated the 33-year averages at 60 and 42.

On the warm side, in 1979 (O'Hare's warmest October 20th) the high was 80 with a low of 68 (O'Hare's warmest low of the date). The record warmest low of 68 degrees also occurred in 1979 at Midway. This was also the only 60s low in O'Hare's history on October 20th. In 2000 the high was 77 with a low of 55. Three years later, in 2003, the high was 85 (O'Hare's hottest high of the date) with a low of 46, a 39 degree spread. The other warm highs were 74 degrees in 1986, 73 degrees in 1978 and 73 degrees in 2007. The record high of 86 degrees was set in 1953 at Midway. 18 of the past 33 highs (55%) were in the 50s. 12 highs (36%) were in the warm: 60s (5), 70s (5) and 80s (2). Three highs (9%) were in the cold 40s. O'Hare's second warmest October 20th was in 1971 as the high was 81 (O'Hare's second warmest high of the date) and low of 59 (O'Hare's co-second warmest low of the date). The other warm day was in 1965 as the high was 68 with a low of 59 (the other co-second warmest low of the date).  

In looking back through the years to the first October at O'Hare in 1959, the following instances were notable: in 1978 the high was a warm 73 with a low of 35, a 38 degree spread. In 1976 the high was a cold 47 degrees. In 1975 the high was 72 with a low of 40, a 32 degree spread. In 1974 the high was 47 with a low of 30, a cold day. In 1972 the high was 49 with a low of 25, a cold day. In 1971 the high was 81 with a low of 59, a warm day. In 1970 the high was 55 with a low of 51, a four degree spread. In 1966 the high was 63 with a low of 32, a 31 degree spread. In 1965 the high was 68 with a warm low of 59, a warm day. In 1964 the high was 45 with a low of 23, a cold day. That low of 23 was colder than the record low. In 1961 the high was a cold 48 with a low of 45, a three degree spread. In 1960 the high was 45 with a low of 29, a cold day. Tom Skilling reported on his blog that back in 1952, three inches of lake-effect snow fell in Chicago but melted quickly. The high that day was just 41 with a low of 29.

More recently, there was an additional large spread of 35 degrees in 1986 (74/39). There were additional small spreads of three degrees in 2004 (53/50), four degrees in 1983 (52/48), four degrees last year, in 2011 (47/43) and six degrees in 1985 (57/51).

On the cool side, in 1989 (O'Hare's third coolest October 20th) the high was 41 (O'Hare's coolest high of the date) with a low of 34. In 2002 the high was 52 with a low of 29. The other cool highs were 47 degrees in 1976, 47 degrees last year (in 2011), 48 degrees in 1961 and 49 degrees in 1995. The other cold low of 29 degrees occurred in 1991. The record low of 24 degrees was last set in 1930 but originally set way back in 1895. The record coolest high of 36 degrees occurred way back in 1895. As you can see, 1895 was by far the coldest of all October 20ths. The official readings were taken adjacent to Lake Michigan in 1895 and at the University of Chicago in 1930. 27 of the last 33 lows (82%) were in the: 30s (11) and 40s (16). Two lows were in the cold 20s. Four lows were in the warm: 50s (3) and 60s (1). O'Hare's coolest October 20th was in 1964 as the high was 45 (O'Hare's co-second coolest high of the date) and low of 23 (O'Hare's coldest low of the date and a low colder than the record low). There's a tie for O'Hare's second coolest October 20ths between 1960 and 1972. In 1960 the high was 45 (O'Hare's other co-second coolest high of the date) and low of 29. In 1972 the high was 49 with a low of 25 (O'Hare's second coldest low of the date). The other cool day was in 1974 as the high was 47 with a low of 30.

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 6:44 and sunrise is at 7:12. Sunset is at 18:03 and twilight ends at 18:31. There's a total of 10 hours, 51 minutes of daylight today and 11 hours, 47 minutes between twilights. We lost two minutes of daylight from yesterday. Tomorrow twilight begins at 6:45 and sunrise is at 7:14. The moon is waxing crescent. Illumination was 29% at midnight, will be 35% at noon and 40% at midnight tonight. Moonrise is at 12:52 this afternoon. Moonset is at 22:46 tonight. Moonrise is at 13:36 tomorrow afternoon. Moonlight time is 9 hours, 54 minutes which is 13 minutes longer than yesterday.

Warm Fall began September 22nd and runs for 41 days through November 1st. High temperatures in this period are usually in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Highs in the 30s and 40s occur infrequently. United Nations Day is in four days. Halloween is in 11 days. Election Day is in 17 days. Standard Time doesn't return until November 4th.  

October 20: ORD

Today is October 20th. It's the 293rd day of the year. 72 days remain. It's week 42 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. ORD has been the official site of record for Chicago 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 61 and the normal low is 42. I've calculated the 32-year averages at 60 and 42.

On the warm side, in 1979 the high was 80 with a low of 68. The record warmest low of 68 occurred also in 1979 at Midway. This was also the only 60s low in O'Hare's history on October 20th. In 2000 the high was 77 with a low of 55. Three years later, in 2003, the high was 85 with a low of 46, a 39 degree spread. The only other 80s high on October 20th in the history of O'Hare was 81 in 1971. The other warm highs were 74 in 1986 and 73 in 2007. The record high of 86 was set in 1953 at Midway. 18 of the past 32 highs (56%) were in the 50s. 12 highs (38%) were in the warm: 60s (5), 70s (5) and 80s (2). Two highs (6%) were in the cold 40s.

In looking back through the years to the first October at O'Hare in 1959, the following instances were notable: in 1978 the high was a warm 73 with a low of 35, a 38 degree spread. In 1976 the high was a cold 47 degrees. In 1975 the high was 72 with a low of 40, a 32 degree spread. In 1974 the high was 47 with a low of 30, a cold day. In 1972 the high was 49 with a low of 25, a cold day. In 1971 the high was 81 with a low of 59, a warm day. In 1970 the high was 55 with a low of 51, a four degree spread. In 1966 the high was 63 with a low of 32, a 31 degree spread. In 1965 the high was 68 with a warm low of 59, a warm day. In 1964 the high was 45 with a low of 23, a cold day. That low of 23 was colder than the record low. In 1961 the high was a cold 48 with a low of 45, a three degree spread. In 1960 the high was 45 with a low of 29, a cold day. Tom Skilling reported on his blog that back in 1952, three inches of lake-effect snow fell in Chicago but melted quickly. The high that day was just 41 with a low of 29.

More recently, there was a large spread of 35 degrees in 1986 (74/39). There were small spreads of three degrees in 2004 (53/50), four degrees in 1983 (52/48) and six degrees in 1985 (57/51).

On the cold side, in 1989 the high was 41 with a low of 34. In 2002 the high was 52 with a low of 29. The only other 40s high was 49 in 1995. Just two of the eight 40s highs in O'Hare's history occurred over the last 32 years. The other cold low was 29 in 1991. O'Hare has had a total of five lows in the 20s in it's history on October 20th, two of them over the last 32 years. The record low of 24 was last set in 1930 but originally set way back in 1895. The record coolest high of 36 occurred way back in 1895. As you can see, 1895 was by far the coldest of all October 20ths. Official readings were taken adjacent to Lake Michigan in 1895 and in 1930. 26 of the last 32 lows (81%) were in the: 30s (11) and 40s (15). There were four long streaks of lows in the 30s & 40s since 1979: first: 5 years from 1980-1984; second: 5 years from 1986-1990; third: 8 years from 1992-1999; fourth: six years from 2005-2010 (ongoing). Two lows were in the cold 20s. Four lows were in the warm: 50s (3) and 60s (1).

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 6:43 and sunrise is at 7:12. Sunset is at 18:04 and twilight ends at 18:32. There's a total of 10 hours, 52 minutes of daylight today and 11 hours, 49 minutes between twilights. We lost four minutes of daylight from yesterday. Tomorrow twilight begins at 6:44 and sunrise is at 7:13. The moon is waning crescent and reached last quarter last night at 22:30. Illumination was 49% at midnight, will be 44% at noon and 38% at midnight tonight. Moonset is at 14:20 this afternoon. Moonrise is at 0:56 tomorrow morning. Moonset is at 14:52 tomorrow afternoon. Moonlight time is 14 hours, 20 minutes which is 25 minutes longer than yesterday.

Warm Fall began September 22 and runs for 41 days through November 1. High temperatures in this period are usually in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Highs in the 30s and 40s occur infrequently. United Nations Day is in four days.

October 20: ORD

Today is October 20th. It's the 293rd day of the year. 72 days remain. It's week 42 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. ORD has been the official site of record for Chicago since Thursday, January 17, 1980.

According to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), the normal high is 60 and the normal low is 40. I've calculated the 31-year averages at 60 and 42.

On the warm side, in 1979 the high was 80 with the record warmest low of 68. In 2000 the high was 77 with a low of 55. Three years later, in 2003, the high was 85 with a low of 46, a 39 degree spread. Other warm highs were 74 in 1986 and 73 three years ago. The record high of 86 was set in 1953. Over the last 31 years, 18 highs have been 50s. 11 highs were in the warmer: 60s (5), 70s (4) and 80s (2). Two highs were in the cooler 40s.

In looking back through the years to the first October at O'Hare in 1959, the following instances were notable: in 1978 the high was a warm 73 with a low of 35, a 38 degree spread. In 1976 the high was a cool 47 degrees. In 1975 the high was a warm 72 with a low of 40, a 32 degree spread. In 1974 the high was a cool 47 with a low of 30, a cool day. In 1972 the high was 49 with a cold low of 25, a cool day. In 1971 the high was 81 with a low of 59, a warm day. In 1970 the high was 55 with a low of 51, a four degree spread. In 1966 the high was 63 with a low of 32, a 31 degree spread. In 1965 the high was 68 with a warm low of 59, a warm day. In 1964 the high was 45 with a low of 23, a cold day. That low of 23 was cooler than the record low. In 1961 the high was a cool 48 with a low of 45, a three degree spread. In 1960 the high was a cool 45 with a low of 29, a cool day. Tom Skilling reported on his blog that back in 1952, three inches of lake-effect snow fell in Chicago but melted quickly. The high that day was just 41 with a low of 29.

More recently, there was a large spread of 35 degrees in 1986 (74/39). There were small spreads of three degrees in 2004 (53/50), four degrees in 1983 (52/48) and six degrees in 1985 (57/51).

On the cool side, in 1989 the high was 41 with a low of 34. The only other 40s high was 49 in 1995. The two 20s lows were 29 degrees, happening in 1991 and most recently in 2002. The record low of 24 was tied in 1930 (but originally set way back in 1895) and the record coolest high of 36 occurred way back in 1895. 1895 was by far the coldest of all October 20ths. 25 of the last 31 lows (81%) were: 30s (11) and 40s (14). Two lows were in the cooler 20s. Four lows were in the warmer: 50s (3) and 60s (1).

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 6:43 and sunrise is at 7:12. Sunset is at 18:04 and twilight ends at 18:32. There's a total of 10 hours, 52 minutes of daylight today and 11 hours, 49 minutes between twilights. We are losing two or three minutes of daylight a day. Tomorrow twilight begins at 6:45 and sunrise is at 7:13. The moon is waxing gibbous, heading towards the full Hunter's moon on Friday night at 20:36. It's also known as the Travel or Dying Grass moon. Illumination was 93% at midnight, will be 95% at noon and 97% at midnight tonight. Moonset was at 4:52 this morning. Moonrise was at 16:39 this afternoon. Moonset is at 5:53 tomorrow morning. Moonlight time is 12 hours, 13 minutes which is 37 minutes longer than yesterday.

United Nation's Day is in four days. Halloween is in 11 days. Election Day is in 13 days. Veteran's Day is in 22 days. -Bernie-

October 20: ORD

Today is October 20th. It's the 293rd day of the year. 72 days remain. It's week 42 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. ORD has been the official site of record for Chicago since Thursday, January 17, 1980.

According to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), the normal high is 60 and the normal low is 40. I've calculated the 30-year averages at 60 and 41.

On the warm side, in 1979 the high was 80 with the record warmest low of 68. In 2000 the high was 77 with a low of 55. Three years later, in 2003, the high was 85 with a low of 46, a 39 degree spread. Other warm highs were 74 in 1986 and 73 two years ago. The record high of 86 was set in 1953. Over the last 30 years, 18 highs have been 50s. Ten highs were in the warmer: 60s (4), 70s (4) and 80s (2). Two highs were in the cooler 40s.

In looking back through the years to the first October at O'Hare in 1959, the following instances were notable: in 1978 the high was 73 with a low of 35, a 38 degree spread. In 1976 the high was a cool 47 degrees. In 1975 the high was 72 with a low of 40, a 32 degree spread. In 1974 the high was 47 with a low of 30, a cool day. In 1972 the high was 49 with a low of 25, a cool day. In 1971 the high was 81 with a low of 59, a warm day. In 1970 the high was 55 with a low of 51, a four degree spread. In 1966 the high was 63 with a low of 32, a 31 degree spread. In 1965 the high was 68 with a low of 59, a warm day. In 1964 the high was 45 with a low of 23, a cool day. In 1961 the high was 48 with a low of 45, a three degree spread. In 1960 the high was 45 with a low of 29, a cool day. Tom Skilling reported on his blog that back in 1952, three inches of lake-effect snow fell in Chicago but melted quickly. The high that day was just 41 with a low of 29.

More recently, there was a large spread of 35 degrees in 1986 (74/39). There were small spreads of three degrees in 2004 (53/50), four degrees in 1983 (52/48) and six degrees in 1985 (57/51).

On the cool side, in 1989 the high was 41 with a low of 34. The record low of 24 was tied most recently in 1930 (originally set back in 1895) and the record coolest high of 36 occurred way back in 1895. 24 of the last 30 lows were: 30s (11) and 40s (13). Two lows were in the cooler 20s. Four lows were in the warmer: 50s (3) and 60s (1).

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 6:44 and sunrise is at 7:12. Sunset is at 18:03 and twilight ends at 18:32. Tomorrow twilight begins at 6:45 and sunrise is at 7:13. There's a total of 10 hours, 51 minutes of daylight today (three minutes less than yesterday) and 11 hours, 48 minutes between twilights. The moon reached new two days ago at 0:33 and is waxing crescent. Illumination was 5% at midnight, will be 7% at noon and 10% at midnight tonight. Moonrise is at 10:05. Moonset is 19:12. Moonlight time is 9 hours, 7 minutes which is 28 minutes shorter than yesterday.

United Nations Day is in four days. Halloween is in 11 days. -Bernie-

October 20: ORD

Today is October 20th. It's the 294th day of the year. 72 days remain. It's week 43 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 60 and the normal low is 40. The 29-year averages are 60 and 41.

On the warm side, in 1979 the high was 80 with the record warmest low of 68. In 2000 the high was 77 with a low of 55. In 2003 the high was a near-record high of 85 with a low of 46 (a 39 degree spread). The record high is 86, set in 1953. Other warm highs were 73 last year and 74 in 1986. Another warm low was 51 in 1985. A pre-1979 warm day at O'Hare was in 1971 (81/59). 17 of the 29 highs have been in the 50s.

Another large spread was 35 degrees in 1986 (74/39). Other small spreads were three degrees in 2004 (53/50), four degrees in 1983 (52/48), six degrees in 1985 (57/51) and nine degrees in 1995 (49/40).

On the cool side, in 1989 the high was 41 with a low of 34 (a 7 degree spread). In 2002 the high was 52 with a low of 29. In 1988 the high was 50 with a low of 32. Other cool lows were 29 in 1991, 31 in 1996, 32 two years ago and 33 in 1992. Other cool highs were 49 in 1995 and 52 in three years (1983, 1997 and 1999). The record low of 24 occurred in 1930 and the record coolest high of 36 was set way back in 1895. 23 of the 29 lows have been 30s (11) and 40s (12).

The following astronomical data is provided by the United States Naval Observatory. In Crystal Lake, twilight begins at 6:44 and sunrise is at 7:12. Sunset is at 18:03 and twilight ends at 18:31. Twilight begins tomorrow at 6:45 and sunrise is at 7:14. There's a total of 10 hours, 51 minutes of daylight today and 11 hours, 47 minutes between twilights. The moon is waning gibbous and will reach last quarter tomorrow morning at 6:55. Illumination was 64% at midnight, will be 59% at noon and 53% at midnight tonight. Moonset is at 13:53 this afternoon. Moonrise is at 23:08 tonight. Moonlight time is 14 hours, 45 minutes today.

United Nations Day is in four days. My oldest sister, Mary Ann, will celebrate a birthday in six days. Halloween is in 11 days. -Bernie-