Lake Michigan Water Temp: Steelheader.net- Steelhead, Salmon and trout fishing

This is why, from todays Chicago Tribune. Yeah bring on fall and winter the best fishing time of the year for us cold water steelheaders. LOL Seriously very cool summer here to date. Those water temp readings have to be wrong from the satellite image, if they aren't I am taking tomorrow off and hitting the lake front where the trout and salmon will be.

Cold spell is cast on Chicago

But an evil wizard is not the culprit; it's chilly Arctic air that dropped the high temperature so low that it shattered a century-old record

By Jon Yates, Tribune staff reporter. Freelance reporter Jody Paige contributed to this report
Published August 12, 2004

Break out the sweaters and snuggle under the covers--it's August in Chicago.

A midsummer Arctic blast pushed temperatures to record lows this week, causing water parks to close, beaches to empty and seemingly hearty Midwesterners to shiver beneath jackets and sweatshirts.

By midday Wednesday, it was warmer in Juneau, Alaska, (64 degrees) than it was in Chicago (61). By day's end, the thermometer had inched only one degree higher, shattering the 101-year-old record of 65 degrees for the coolest high temperature on that date.

Thursday could be equally cold, forecasters said.

"It should be warmer," complained Yonnie Mao, 33, who wrapped herself in a thick blanket to stave off a brisk breeze as she watched her children splash around Wednesday in Lake Michigan at North Avenue Beach.

Several feet away, Kara Vana, 9, was barely visible beneath several inches of sand.

"She wants to be buried because she wanted to warm up," said Jane Lang of Homewood, who had brought Kara and her friends to the beach. "If it gets too chilly, we're thinking about going to the zoo."

At least the polar bears know how to cope in such a climate.

Meteorologists blame the cold spell on a stubborn jet stream that is pulling cool air down from the Arctic region. By the time it reaches the Midwest, the air has swept through Alaska and the Canadian tundra.

"We've got October-level weather two months early," WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling said. "This is amazing stuff. We're challenging century-old records."

Wednesday's high of 62 degrees was a full 20 degrees below normal.

Skilling said that this summer, Chicago is running about 2.5 degrees below normal and that this summer ranks as the 25th-coolest of 133 on record.

The impact has been felt across the region--in outdoor cafes, at pools and in agricultural fields.

Emerson Nafziger, extension agronomist at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, said that in general, the state's corn and soybean crops have been ahead of normal in their development.

Still, brisk days don't help the plants' growth.

"A day like today, very little progress gets made," Nafziger said.

Days like Wednesday are also rough on area water parks and beaches.

The Rainbow Falls Water Park in Elk Grove Village was closed for a second straight day Wednesday because the facility does not open if the temperature fails to hit 66 degrees.

Debi Hille, aquatics manager for the village's Park District, said that on a typical August day, Rainbow Falls would be packed with about 600 swimmers. Instead the pool, slides and inner tubes were empty.

"There was a birthday party for tonight and last night that we had to reschedule," Hille said. "We get people that are pretty upset. They don't understand. We have to explain to them that it's due to the air temperature."

A recording at Ozzie Water Park in Palatine said the facility was closed because of "unseasonably cold temperatures," and the answering machine at Cypress Cove Family Aquatic Park in Woodridge said it, too, was closed for the weather.

The scene was similar in Homewood and Flossmoor, where the Park District has seen attendance dip 10 percent at its pools this year.

"It has been a horrible, horrible summer for being outside," said Eric Enslen, who supervises the district's pools. "Who wants to be out in 62 degrees?"

At the new Crown Fountain in Chicago's Millennium Park, Corey Wollaeger, 12, of Nashville ran though the water in bare feet.

"It's pretty cold at first," he said, explaining his kamikaze approach. "After a while your feet get numb, and you don't feel it."

Others felt the sting in a different way. Ice cream vendor Gabriel Jackson, 17, found few takers for his ice pops and strawberry chills.

On a hot day, he can sell up to $1,500 worth of ice cream. Jackson expected to sell about $300 worth Wednesday.

He didn't mind the relaxing pace, but wasn't happy that his tip basket only held $2 and change.

"I like it like this, except I can't get any tips," Jackson said. "No customers, no tips."
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune

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"The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool."

Jane Wagner