Journal Entry

:: A "Pneumonia Front" Moves Through ::

Tonight there’s a weather alert on for this part of Illinois warning the citizenry of a “pneumonia front”. Temperatures will drop from the 70s to the 40s(!) as it passes through. We had a party here earlier today, and I think I took the trash out shortly after, or before, the front passed through. I noticed it was quite a lot cooler than earlier, but I don’t think it was down to the 40s at that time. Still, interesting.

Also interesting is the Wikipedia entry for Pneumonia Front, created today. It looks, from some cursory Googling, like this is the first many people have heard of this thing called a Pneumonia Front.

The content of the announcement follows.

A PNEUMONIA FRONT CURRENTLY IN FAR SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN WILL
CONTINUE TO RAPIDLY DROP SOUTHWARD INTO NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND
INDIANA TONIGHT. THIS FRONT HAS BEEN MARKED BY A DRASTIC CHANGE IN
TEMPERATURES AND A STRONG WIND SHIFT. TEMPERATURES ALONG THE
LAKE FRONT HAVE DROPPED FROM THE LOW TO MID 70S TO THE MID TO
UPPER 40S AS THE FRONT PASSES. WINDS HAVE SHIFTED FROM BEING LIGHT
AND OUT OF THE WEST TO OUT OF THE NORTHEAST AND GUSTING UP TO 40
MPH AT TIMES ALONG THE LAKE. THIS FRONT WILL BE INTO LAKE AND
MCHENRY COUNTIES BY 10PM...COOK...DUPAGE..KANE...DEKALB...AND
BOONE COUNTIES BY 1045PM...AND THE REST OF NORTHWEST INDIANA AND
NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS BY MIDNIGHT CDT.

A PNEUMONIA FRONT IS A RARE...METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA THAT IS
TYPICALLY OBSERVED ALONG THE WESTERN LAKE MICHIGAN SHORELINE
DURING THE WARM SEASON. THESE FRONTS ARE DEFINED AS LAKE MODIFIED
SYNOPTIC SCALE COLD FRONTS THAT RESULT IN ONE HOUR TEMPERATURE
DROPS OF 16 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT OR GREATER.