Nature Bulletin No. 45   December 15, 1945
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Clayton F. Smith, President
Roberts Mann, Superintendent of Conservation

****:WEATHER EXTREMES

Chicago lies in a temperate zone. We are fortunate. The lowest 
temperature recorded here since the establishment of the Weather 
Bureau in 1870 was -- 23  F on Dec. 24, 1872.  The lowest records 
elsewhere in the United States are--66  F at Riverside Ranger Station, 
Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, on Feb. 9, 1933; and -- 78  F at Fort 
Yukon, Alaska, on Jan. 14, 1934.  The lowest record anywhere on earth 
is 90  F at Verkhoyansk, Siberia, Feb. 5 and 7, 1892.

The greatest snowfall recorded in Chicago in one 24-hour period was 
14.9 inches on Jan. 30, 1939; but 19.2 inches fell between 1:10 a.m. on 
March 24 and 8:33 p.m. on March 26, 1930.

Other heavy snowfall records include: 60 inches at Giant Forest, 
California, in 1 day; 42 inches at Angola, New York, in 2 days; 54 
inches at The Dallas, Oregon, in 3 days; 96 inches at Vanceboro, 
Maine, in 4 days. The greatest seasonal snowfall was 884 inches, more 
than 73 feet, at Tarnarack, Calif., during the winter of 1906-07.

The highest temperature officially recorded in Chicago was 105  F on 
July 24, 1934.  The highest for the United States was 134 F at 
Greenland Ranch, Death Valley, Calif., on July 10, 1913. The highest 
anywhere on earth was 136  F. at Aziza, Libya, North Africa, on Sept. 
13, 1922.

The greatest 24-hour rainfall recorded in Chicago was 6.19 inches on 
Aug. 2, 1885. The greatest in the U.S. was 23. 22 inches at New 
Smyrna, Florida, on Oct. 10-11, 1924. The world record is believed to 
be 46 inches on July 14-15, 1911, at Baguio, Luzon, P.I.

The average annual precipitation in Chicago, based on records for the 
past 100 years, is 32.87 inches.  The average for the U. S. is 
approxirnately 29 inches. Louisiana is the wettest state with an annual 
average of 55.11 inches, and Nevada the driest with 8. 81 inches. 
However, the annual average at Greenland Ranch, Death Valley, Calif., 
is only 1.35 inches. The highest local average annual rainfall in the U.S. 
is 150.73 inches at Wynoochee Oxbow, Washington. But at 
Cherrapunji, India, the annual average is 426 inches (35.5 feet). In the 
month of August 1841, at Cherrapunji, 241 inches of rain fell -- 150 
inches of it in 5 consecutive days.

Instead of grumbling about the weather, get outdoors and enjoy it. Walk 
a lot. There are 170 miles of all-weather trails and paths in the forest 
preserves.