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.