This One's Different

Unlike the past few storms to roll through here this very un-El Nino-like winter, this one will feature a mixed bag of precipitation for the Chicagoland area. A strong storm system is organizing over the southern Plains this evening, and will move into the Midwest tomorrow.  The storm has an enormous amount of moisture feeding into it.   Snow should begin in the western suburbs tomorrow afternoon, the overspread the city by nightfall.  The best lift with the storm will be late tomorrow night into Monday morning.  During that time, several inches of snow will accumulate, with the highest totals near the Wisconsin line. That far north, the precipitation will fall entirely as snow, and double-digit amounts are possible.  To the south however, there will be warmer air, and that will lead to a combo platter of sleet, snow and plain old rain.  For that reason, snowfall amounts should be much less in Kankakee than Waukegan for example.  At this point, I'm predicting 3"-6" from the city's south side into the southern burbs, and 6"-10" from the city north.  Travel will be a mess Monday morning, and some closings are certainly possible.  We will have a special morning show on Monday starting at 4:30 a.m.  Tracy will bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with the latest storm info. 

Mike

FEBRUARY 20, 2010
Let me start off by saying that the official start of spring is ONE month from today! I'm a big fan of spring--spring baseball, spring cleaning, BBQ weather. With that said, another winter storm is creeping in late this weekend. Some counties will have a 6-10" snow potential through Monday night. In fact, the national weather service has issued a winter storm watch for the Illinois counties including; Cook, Lake, Dupage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Dekalb, continuing westward and NW toward Rockford. Counties in the watch area could see significant snow. If you're living south of I-80, you could see a rain/snow mixture as warmer air and moisture surges north from the Gulf of Mexico. There will be a fine line that divides the wet snow and the rain/snow mix. As the exact track of the storm develops, stay tuned to ABC 7 for the latest analysis. If you like this kind of weather then enjoy! However, if you don't like the snow, keep in mind once again--spring is officially ONE month away! Have a great weekend!
MARK BISHOP

Good News!!! (if you like snow)

Another sunshine-laden day is in progress, lulling some of us into a false sense of Spring Fever.  Fear not, winter lovers, for more snow and cold is on the table!  Let's start with system #1.  It's not strong, it's rather weak on moisture, but it should be able to deliver an inch or so tomorrow.  Not a big deal.  OK.  Let's get to the good stuff then, shall we?  Monday.  This is the might-be, could-be, if-it-turns-left storm we've been advertising all week.  True to form, computer models are indeed trending farther north meaning a significant snowfall is more likely with this system than it appeared a few days ago.  In fact, if all went just right (or wrong, depending on your preference) Chicagoland could get another 8"+ storm.  For that reason, I will issue a "Bread and Milk Alert" for this storm, which is my light-hearted way of suggesting that an event of significant impact is likely.  A word of caution, this storm is only now moving inland from the Pacific. Once over land, we will be able to sample it better with balloon soundings, giving our computer models much more reliable data with which to predict its future course.  So stay tuned to our weekend forecasts for the very latest.

Mike

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2010

Good morning....all this talk of our boring weather pattern has led to this...talk of snow.  Two rounds...one will be light...the other...well, the jury is still out. 

Snow 1 --  this will be a persistent light snow thru the day on Saturday.  Accumulations will come in anywhere between 1/2 to 2".

Snow 2 -- this will begin late Sunday and continue the day on Monday.  The models have been going back and forth on this guy.  Farther north/farther south/farther north/farther south...you get the idea.    The latest models are bringing this storm farther north which would mean more snow for us than "Snow 1" will bring. 

So...what to do...at this point, we will have to monitor this one closely throughout the weekend.  Stay tuned!

Tracy

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2010

Good morning!  How about a 40?  Do I hear 40?  SOLD...TO THE LAKEFRONT!  I'm talking 40 degrees...

Our 11am temperature over at Northerly Island was 40 degrees!  With the sun shining out there, this is sure to fuel those feelings of spring fever.  If we hit 40 degrees at O'Hare, this would be the first 40 this February and the first 40 since January 24.  We hit 46 degrees that day!

The 40s never looked so good!

Tracy

How "Thaw"tful!

The mercury is climbing steadily above freezing today, thanks in no small part to a full dose of sunshine.  While it is still winter, the sun angle is getting higher, meaning the sun is able to more effectively warm the surface than when it was lower in the sky several weeks ago.  Consequently,  some of us will crack the 40-degree mark this afternoon. That easily ranks this as the warmest day of the month.  Tomorrow the temperatures will rise above freezing once again, but an increase in cloud cover might cap the warmup.  Those clouds will be in advance of a storm system moving out of the Rockies.  By Saturday, an area of snow will swing into Chicagoland, especially city and south.  The jury is out on how much will fall, but perhaps an inch or two could fall with temperatures very close to freezing.  The Monday snow threat is still there, but it looks even farther south than it did yesterday.  Enjoy the warmup and spring tease today!

Mike

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2010

HO HUM....are you bored with the weather.  From a meteorological standpoint, it is BORING.  From a person who drives to work in the middle of the night, I am enjoying the boring....the lack of a raging snowstorm at 2am.  Now, it was just a week ago that we were cleaning up after a "not so boring foot or more of snow."  And while I really did enjoy watching that storm come together, driving in it was no picnic.  So which is it...do I want a snowstorm or do I want BORING?  hmmm...let me think about that...after all, tomorrow is another day.

Tracy

Quiet TFN

I'm not a huge snow lover, but I have to admit it, I feel like the Maytag repairman this week in the ABC-7 Weather Center.  There are no major storms on the horizon, no major temperature swings in the immediate offing, not even an earthquake to report on!  If there is a wrinkle to consider in our otherwise benign weather pattern it might come Sunday night into Monday.  There's a potent storm system forecasted to shoot just to our south during that period, but often times, the computer modelling trends too far south with these systems at this range.  Should the storm take a more northerly course, accumulating snows would spread into Chicagoland.  So I'll focus my attention on that!  Otherwise, look for overcast skies and temperatures near freezing today, with more sunshine on tap for Thursday.  The normal high this time of year is around 35, so we'll be close to that until early next week when colder temps arrive. 

Mike

Another snow burst coming

Last night, most of Chicagoland picked up between 1/2" and 1" of snow as a spoke of energy rotated through the area.  The next ripple is marching south of Sheboygan, WI as of noon today, headed back into northern Illinois for the late afternoon.  I can't see much more than another 1/2" out of this disturbance, which like its predeccesor is orbiting in from a parent low pressure in eastern Canada. Cloud cover will be on the increase, but I do expect some sunshine, especially south and west of Chicago.  That should be enough to nudge temperatures close to freezing.  The exception to the light snow rule is found in sw Michigan and north central Indiana, where lake effect snow advsories have been posted. Those of you in Berrien County for example could get up to 6" of snow due to lake effect.  I expect a few flurries again tomorrow, but in general, a cool but quiet week remains ahead. 

Mike

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2010

Good morning!  Back to school, back to work, and back to some lake-effect influence.  We are seeing some lake-effect clouds right now in the city and all along Illinois and Indiana lake-shore communities.  In addition, expect lake-effect snow showers to continue across Southwest Michigan and in Northern Indiana!  In fact, a lake-effect snow advisory has just been issued for Berrien County, Michigan until 6am CST. 

Other than that, it should be a fairly quiet time in Chicago other than some occasional light snow showers. 

Tracy