Weather records in the city date back to 1871, not March 4y The temperature was as warm as it had been in 1983. The temperature that day never dropped below 50 degrees and the high temperature rose to 73 degrees. It was a very different story on March 4 one year ago when 8.5 inches of snow fell on Chicago. Although it snowed in 1982, it was not nearly as cold as it had been on March 4, 1873, when the temperature dropped to -12°C. Just five years ago, the city's temperature never exceeded 12 degrees Celsius.
Monday's temperatures could threaten city records and showers and thunderstorms are expected late in the day. If Chicago has its wettest Christmas, more than 1.75 inches of rain should fall, as it did in 1985.