Snow has started falling in Chicago this morning, with predictions of 25 cm by tomorrow:
Northern Cook County and Lake County could see as much as 9 inches of it by late afternoon, according to Rich Brumer, a National Weather Service meteorologist. Chicago and the western suburbs could see 4 to 6 inches, while the south suburbs may get 2 to 3.
The worst of today's snowfall, which Brumer described as "wet and heavy," should occur between mid-morning and early afternoon.
"By the evening rush hour, things should be letting up a bit," Brumer said. "We should get a reprieve by this morning's rush; the heavier stuff shouldn't occur."
Oh, I hope it lets up by this afternoon. I really do.
For those of you who missed it last night, we had a total lunar eclipse, which the cold, clear weather in Chicago let us see perfectly:
Yes, today I had my sixth consecutive flight cancellation. The sky is clear, visibility is 80 km, but the -19°C temperatures and 60 km/h wind gusts are just too much for the ancient Piper Warrior I rent.
The City of Evanston, my birthplace, bastion of good government, where I have lived for just over three years, has run out of road salt:
[Evanston Public Works chief] David Jennings says that on Wednesday "our salt supplier notified us that they could not honor the balance of our current order, about 1,100 tons, due to difficulties in getting their supply of salt to the distribution point that serves us."
Jennings says city crews have stopped salting residential streets, but are continuing to plow. "This means that most of these streets will develop 'snowpack' which is smooth in some areas, but tends to rut and develop a washboard surface as traffic packs it down."
I can attest to the 'washboard' surface as driving Parker to day camp the last two days was like driving over two miles of railroad tracks. Oh well, snow does melt eventually, and we should have above-freezing temperatures in a month or two.
Yes, this is my 1,000th post since this blog started in November 2005.
I had hoped to write a long, introspective essay on blogging in general and this blog in specific over the years, but it turns out I have work to do today, so that will have to wait until the 2,000th post or so. (Many of you are fighting back tears, I know; though I suspect they're tears of joy.)
No, today I'm just going to mention the two most immediately relevant things that confronted me on my way to work this morning.
First, in the past 24 hours, the temperature in Chicago has dropped 27°C. Spot the cold front:
Second, my preferred candidate, John Edwards, for whom I had planned to vote today at lunch, has dropped out of the race. So I'll vote tomorrow, once I formulate Plan B.
For the first time in 11 days, the temperature in Chicago got above freezing this afternoon. It's odd how warm it feels out there right now.
Speaking of chilling, I saw No Country for Old Men last night. Great film. Very chilling.
For the fifth time in a row, I've had to cancel a flight today because of weather. Very frustrating. Next attempt in two weeks.
It's time for the semi-annual update of the Chicago sunrise chart. (You can get one for your own location at http://www.wx-now.com/Sunrise/SunriseChart.aspx.)
Date |
Significance |
Sunrise |
Sunset |
Daylight |
2008 |
4 Jan |
Latest sunrise until Oct 28 |
07:19 |
16:33 |
9:14 |
28 Jan |
5pm sunset |
07:08 |
17:00 |
9:52 |
5 Feb |
7am sunrise |
07:00 |
17:11 |
10:10 |
20 Feb |
5:30pm sunset |
06:40 |
17:30 |
10:49 |
27 Feb |
6:30am sunrise |
06:30 |
17:38 |
11:08 |
8 Mar |
Earliest sunrise until April 12th Earliest sunset until Oct 28th |
06:14 |
17:50 |
11:36 |
9 Mar |
Daylight savings time begins Latest sunrise until Oct 22nd |
07:12 |
18:51 |
11:39 |
16 Mar |
7am sunrise, 7pm sunset 12-hour day |
07:00 |
19:00 |
12:00 |
20 Mar |
Equinox 00:48 CDT |
06:54 |
19:04 |
12:10 |
3 Apr |
6:30am sunrise (again) |
06:30 |
19:19 |
12:49 |
13 Apr |
7:30pm sunset |
06:13 |
19:30 |
13:17 |
22 Apr |
6am sunrise |
05:59 |
19:41 |
13:31 |
10 May |
8pm sunset |
05:35 |
20:00 |
14:24 |
15 May |
5:30am sunrise |
05:30 |
20:05 |
14:34 |
14 Jun |
Earliest sunrise of the year |
05:15 |
20:28 |
15:13 |
20 Jun |
Solstice 18:59 CDT |
05:15 |
20:30 |
15:15 |
21 Jun |
8:30pm sunset |
05:16 |
20:30 |
15:14 |
27 Jun |
Latest sunset of the year |
05:18 |
20:31 |
15:13 |
2 Jul |
8:30pm sunset |
05:20 |
20:30 |
15:09 |
16 Jul |
5:30am sunrise |
05:30 |
20:24 |
14:55 |
8 Aug |
8pm sunset |
05:52 |
20:00 |
14:08 |
16 Aug |
6am sunrise |
06:00 |
19:49 |
13:48 |
28 Aug |
7:30pm sunset |
06:13 |
19:30 |
13:17 |
15 Sep |
6:30am sunrise; 7pm sunset |
06:30 |
19:00 |
12:29 |
22 Sep |
Equinox, 10:44 CDT |
06:39 |
18:48 |
12:08 |
25 Sep |
12-hour day |
06:42 |
18:42 |
12:00 |
2 Oct |
6:30pm sunset |
06:49 |
18:30 |
11:40 |
12 Oct |
7am sunrise |
07:00 |
18:14 |
11:13 |
21 Oct |
6pm sunset |
07:11 |
18:00 |
10:48 |
1 Nov |
Latest sunrise of the year Latest sunset until Mar 5th |
07:24 |
17:45 |
10:20 |
2 Nov |
Standard time returns Earliest sunrise until Mar 2nd |
06:25 |
16:43 |
10:18 |
6 Nov |
6:30am sunrise (again) |
06:30 |
16:39 |
10:08 |
15 Nov |
4:30pm sunset |
06:41 |
16:30 |
9:48 |
2 Dec |
7am sunrise |
07:01 |
16:20 |
9:19 |
8 Dec |
Earliest sunset of the year |
07:06 |
16:20 |
9:13 |
21 Dec |
Solstice, 06:04 CST |
07:16 |
16:23 |
9:07 |
You can get sunrise information for your location at wx-now.com.
Today is already the warmest January 7th ever recorded in Chicago (right now 17°C), and if the temperature hits 19°C, it'll be the warmest January day ever.
Stay tuned.
Just three days ago, Thursday morning, the temperature in Chicago sank to -18°C, with a wind chill of -23°C. Right now, it's 16°C. Did I mention it's the beginning of January?
I'm so happy the U.S. has taken the lead against global warming.