Pete’s Weather

NO CURRENT ADVISORIES

THERE ARE NO ACTIVE WATCHES, WARNINGS OR ADVISORIES

Thanks to Mike Naylor for the new background photo from the Montrose Beach Dunes. The flower is a native wetland species called Silverweed that carpets the dunes. While many of us know Montrose Harbor for its beach and soccer fields, the area is also home to mecca of unique plants and animals. After the Chicago Park District stopped mowing a section of beach in the 1990s, native species began to repopulate the area again. There are now approximately 11 acres of dunes. If you check it them out, please remember to tread lightly.

If you’re reading this, get outside!  It’s sunny and in the mid-50s.  How often does that happen in February in Chicago? There is a chance we might hit a record.  The record high out at ORD for today is 59 degrees F and that was set back in 1925. OK, time to go vacuum the car or find some other excuse to be outside.  Enjoy!

You’ll notice in the new current conditions setup that there is now a gauge for Apparent Temperature.

What is “apparent temperature”?  It’s basically the same thing as heat index or wind chill. If it’s summer, think of it as the “heat index”.  If it’s winter, think of it as the “wind chill”. By definition, apparent temperature incorporates actual temperature, humidity, and wind speed. Thus, it’s truly a  measure of “how hot it feels” or “how cold it feels”.

I thought I would post some heat index (wishful thinking this time of year) and wind chill tables to give you an idea of how wind and humidity effect how we feel. It alsp serves as a reminder to the dangers involved when you start taking these into account. I’ve also posted links to more information from the National Weather Service.  Just remember to be careful when things get extreme and to check in on friends and loved ones.

Heat Information from NWS

Winter Information from NWS

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Pete’s Weather was featured again on Uptown Update, one of the top neighborhood blogs in Chicago. Welcome to everyone who found my site from their post, and thanks to UU for the shout out!

If you haven’t noticed, petesweather.com is getting its annual updates. You’ll notice a lot of changes as I struggle with PHP and my server configurations. I’ve moved from plain HTML to using Wordpress. I still have code tweaking, but I’m leaning a lot and should hopefully have it 100% in the next couple of weeks. Please pardon the dust and I hope you enjoy the revisions. Thanks!

Happy Holidays!
-Pete