Events

Chicago weather conditions at 4pm: -6°C, winds northeast at 48 km/h gusting to 63 km/h, visibility 400 m in heavy, blowing snow. Here's the corner of Belden and Clark in Lincoln Park around then: And a little north of that, looking north:

The ParkerCam will be pointing out the window at Inner Drive Technology World Headquarters today, in case anyone wants to watch the blizzard in progress for the duration of the event:

The weather we've worried about for a couple of days looks set to hit this afternoon: Four days of computer forecasts of this storm, including multiple runs off 7 models, are putting the developing system on a more northerly track while generating water equivalent precipitation of around 30 mm. To convert that to snow, calculations have to be made of how snowflakes are likely to develop in the storm given a snow/water ratio predicted to be 15 to 1 Tuesday evening. [This means 450 mm of snow. —ed.] As...

We're likely to begin February with the biggest snowfall in Chicago's recorded history: A Blizzard Watch is in effect Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday as a strengthening low pressure system moves up the Ohio Valley. Late Tuesday afternoon steady snow and stronger winds will push into the region, starting south of I-80 and spreading north during the evening. Snowfall rates Tuesday night could approach 50 to 80 mm per hour and when combined with sustained winds at 50-60 km/h, visibilities are will drop...

Every year, I surprise myself by the amount of money I loan the United States, interest-free. Today I found out it's about double what I estimated earlier. This isn't a good thing: while I have no objection to paying taxes, I object strongly to over-paying during the tax year, even if they do refund it a week after I ask for it. </ rant>

This winter Chicago has had below-average temperatures overall but nothing really cold. It's like a study in moderation, only unusual when you see the numbers rather than when you experience it: Just one day this season has produced a sub-minus-17 Celsius low temperature and only one day has failed to climb out of single digits. Since the start of the three month (December through February) meteorological winter period, 38 of the 59 days—64% of them—have generated below normal readings. It's a fact that...