The sun is shining on Chicago this morning, allowing the second and final day of the annual Air and Water Show to go off without the kind of rain-delay hitch that happened yesterday. The red streak you’ll see in the sky in the Lake Shore View below is smoke released by a parachute team at the start of today’s festivities.
I’ll have the details for the Chicago vs. D.C. Weather Smackdown below. But first, a little photo essay on yesterday’s Air Show. Ever wonder what it’s like to have the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds doing their precision flying thing right outside your apartment window? Now you will…
As for the weather, even though I am a born-again Chicago zealot, I have to play fair in the weather smackdown. True, it was eight degrees cooler here yesterday afternoon — Chicago O’Hare was 80 with a low of 66 and Washington Reagan National was 88 with a low of 69 — but we had 1.11 inches of rain to a dry day in D.C. And the rain came at an especially bad time for the crowd that had gathered for the air show.
So score one for D.C., making the tally 16-2 in favor of Chicago for the year so far. It looks like it’s game on again today, though, D.C. fans.
I’m going to mix things up a bit on the weather feature. The data for yesterday’s weather is from Weather Underground. Today, I’m going to start using the weather forecasts from the Weather Channel’s website, weather.com. Just a way for me to pay tribute to my two favorite weather sites. Also adding tomorrow’s forecasts, for your convenience.
Chicago: Mostly cloudy early, then sunshine for the afternoon. High around 80. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph… Tonight… Mostly clear. Low 61. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph… Tomorrow… Sunny skies. High near 80. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Washington: Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High near 90. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%…. Tonight… Scattered showers and thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. Low 72. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%…. Tomorrow… Abundant sunshine. High 87. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.
Well, I arrived home to discover that the Chicago weather that put a temporary damper on the Air Show had found it’s way to the Beltway before I arrived home. I’m happy that it traveled faster than I did since, when I mentioned to the stewardess that my exit row seat was broken on the Southwest flight home, I was told, “Oh, no, that’s just one of the two seats with no cushioning.” Evidently, an exit row feature. I think they assume that if you are in the exit row and are comfortable you’ll not respond quick enough. But if the flight would have been jostled and delayed it would have been much worse. So I got home post-storm and with only minimal torture. Watching airplanes and Wagnerian storms from the Cooler by the Lakeshore aeire is much to be preferred.