Might be having a very dry Christmas....

 

       The Chicagoland area hit a record of 283 consecutive days of no snowfall. Total snowfall for the Chicagoland area is still at zero where only a slight trace of snow has been recorded at the Chicago O'Hare Airport. Looking at the December snowfall rankings (1958-Present) for Chicago, this December ranks as the least amount of snowfall for the Chicagoland area. The highest snowfall ever recorded at O'Hare Intl. Airport was in 1978 with 35.3".

      Most of the Midwestern states are seeing precipitation values well below their normal levels. On average the whole Midwest is about 2" below the average precipitation amounts this is including snowfall for the winter season. The above map shows the probability for above or below average precipitation in the U.S.; most of the Great Plains is set to have below average precipitation values through next week. It seems that this December is going to be very similar to last years where Chicago saw 1.7" of snowfall for the month.

John Barmann
Meteorologists

Beginning to look a lot like summer?

 

The first three days of the official meteorological winter saw temperatures way above normal. Yesterday on December 3, temperatures for the Midwest region were in the upper 60s to lower 70s!! Most of the Midwest saw temperatures pass the daily normal by more than 10 degrees.  Rockford, IL had a maximum temperature of 69 degrees at 1:44 PM yesterday; this breaks the record of 65 degrees set back in 1970! Columbia, MO also saw their maximum temperature surpass the record; the high for Columbia was 75 degrees yesterday which breaks the record of 72 degrees set back in 1998. Chicago Ohare airport almost tied their record maximum temperature yesterday by having a maximum temperature at 70 degrees with the record still at 71 degrees from 1970. This has been one of the warmest starts to the winter season in over ten years; with temperatures staying in the upper 60s for three consecutive days. This pattern does not look to hold up long, as some winter time weather will set in next week.


John Barmann
Meteorologist

A look into December...

 

 

 

 

As the fall season comes to a close, Illinois has a mean temperature of 52.7 degrees, which ranks 25th coldest fall. Total precipitation for the fall season so far is at 5.86", with only three days left it seems that this will be the official total. Looking ahead into the winter season, most of the United States will see temperatures above normal as the upper level atmospheric blocking over the north Pacific has been persistent for the past few weeks. This upper level blocking is contributing to the abnormally high temperatures as well as the lack of any significant storms in the midwest. Looking ahead in the season, we can see that the first third of the season will be lacking any significant snowfall which is due to the north Pacific blocking.  

 

 

John Barmann

Meteorologist

 

Warmest Thanksgiving in 40 years...

 

Thanksgiving day will be one of the warmest days of the month with high temperatures expected to reach 63 degrees for the Chicagoland area! If the forecast holds out; this Thanksgiving will rank second highest for maximum temperature in the Rockford region. For Chicago region the month of November has seen a mean temperature of 42 degrees. This mean temperature ranks as the 52nd highest mean temp with records  taken from National Climate Data Center (NCDC: 1865-2011). Snowfall totals for the state of Illinois is still at 0.0" which is far below the normal snowfall to this date by more than an inch! Although no snow has fallen so far, the season is still young and showing some promise.

John Barmann
Meteorologist

Hurricane Sandy....

We were almost out of the hurricane season with only one storm that hit the United States earlier this year.......and then, Sandy came knocking on the door.  Over the past week, Sandy has been given several other names from "Superstorm" to "The Perfect Storm."  With just over 100 lives claimed and up to $30 BILLION in damage, this one goes down in the record books. 


Facts on Hurricane Sandy:

• Storm was 900 miles wide which was roughly twice the size of Texas
• The lowest barometric reading ever recorded for an Atlantic storm north of Cape Hatteras NC
• The storm surge in New York City was 13.88 breaking the old record from 1960 at 10.02 feet
• At least 8 million people without power.  The biggest loss of electricity at one time

         Photo Courtesy of Andrew Burton.  Damage in New York City.

       Jessica Hill/Associated Press. Damage from Brant Beach, NJ


Eric Szos
Chief Meteorologist

Late Season Severe Weather....

A strong cut off low pressure system developed across the Central Plains on Saturday 10/13 and moved into the Upper Midwest on Sunday 10/14.  Due to sufficent wind shear, moisture, and a lifting mechanism, this was a good enough setup for severe thunderstorms.  The images below show convection beginning around 2pm and blasting through the Chicagoland area over the next couple of hours.  Brief heavy downpours and gusty winds were the main issues with this event.  The highest wind gust of 65 mph was reported in Peotone, IL. 

A TORNADO Warning was issued across northern Cook County and a possible brief touchdown occurred in Schaumburg.  Several trees were uprooted and a few roofs were damaged.  The National Weather Service is conducting a survey today and an answer will likely be given later today. 

Another strong system is forecasted on Wednesday with a few more strong storms possible.  This is very typcial during the spring and fall seasons.  When seasons make their transition from summer to winter or vice versa, low pressure systems become stronger to due the enhanced jet sreams across the U.S.   

2:00pm Radar

3:35pm Radar

Eric Szos
Chief Meteorologist

Famers' Almanac 2012-2013 Winter Outlook

Labor Day has passed and summer is nearing an end.  Typically around this time of year, forecasts and prognosticators begin to come out and predict what the upcoming winter season will bring and these questions begin to get asked:

• How much snow will I get this year?
• El Nino or La Nina season?
• When is the 1st snowfall going to arrive?

Below is the outlook for the upcoming 2013 winter season.  The basic highlights are.....snowy & cold across the Great Lakes region and East Coast, but drier and warmer than average across the Western U.S. and Central Plains.  There of course is always an uncertainty especially with how last year's winter season panned out.  The jet stream is crucial depending where it sets up, and this year we are expecting a "weak El Nino"which usually favors the East Coast as well as Great Lakes region with average to slightly above average snowfall amounts. 

 

As you saw in my earlier post, I see much of the U.S. seeing average snowfall amounts this coming year with my area (Chicago) seeing their average amount of 35.0" to 40.0" of snow. 

 

 

Eric Szos

Chief Meteorologist