Weather
Boyce Tankersley (Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:38:53 PST)

Good morning from a very cold Chicago.

Our day time high this afternoon is predicted to be -4 degrees F. Our predicted low for Saturday morning is -15 degrees F. Neither temperature is a record, but they are the coldest readings we have experienced in the last 10 years.

We have more snow cover (11 inches) than Jim Shields but it is a very dry snow and the winds are starting to move it around. Wind chills for this afternoon will be around -20 degrees F and tomorrow morning at -30 degrees F or lower.

Twelve miles south of the Chicago Botanic Garden, the heat island effect of the city of Chicago is providing only a 10 degree impact. We are situated west of Lake Michigan so the lake effect (moderated temperatures plus increased snowfall) will not help us out.

A great day for nursery catalogs!

Boyce Tankersley
Director of Living Plant Documentation
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, IL 60022
tel: 847-835-6841
fax: 847-835-1635
email: btankers@chicagobotanic.org
USDA Zone 5

On Behalf Of J.E. Shields
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2009 9:42 AM
To: Pacific Bulb Society
Subject: [pbs] Weather

Good morning, all!

This morning, just before the sun really came up, my electronic thermometer
outdoors between my house and the greenhouses, registered a low of -9.9°F
(-23.3°C). The "official" temperature here in Westfield (given by the
Weather.com bug for zip code 46074) was -6°F (-21°C) at that time.