The lull continues......

As December 2011 gets ready to come to an end, we had an incredibly mild start to the 2011-2012 winter season.  It was almost as if mothernature decided to skip winter and jump right into spring with temperatures well into the 40s for much of the month.  Chicago O'Hare airport officially recorded 1.7" of snow this month which is well below the average of 8.3" for the month.  


So, the million dollar question asked is........what's in store for 2012?  The picture below helps illustrate the overall pattern across the U.S.  You can see the jet stream from northern Washington through North Dakota and stretch down through Tennesse and back up across the northeast.  Typically with this type of flow, we have clippers systems that move through, however, the warm air from the Pacific is able to push into the midwest helping temperatures stay well above normal. 

There are signs of colder air moving into the Midwest to start the new year, but they are short lived.  The next couple weeks show the same pattern continuing, but historically speaking, we should finally start seeing snow events, not rain events through Jan and Feb.   Only time will tell, so make sure to keep following us on our blog and twitter!


Eric Szos
Chief Meteorologist