WGN Weather Center Blog

Jennifer Barwock of Posen, Ill., captured this image of a double rainbow Thursday afternoon (Nov. 19) in Oak Forest. Thanks Jennifer for sharing this great picture with us!



Photo courtesy of Jennifer Barwock, Posen, Ill.

John Hazzard has always done a wonderful job keeping the WGN Weather Center informed about soil and farming conditions for Illinois farmers. He tells us today that weather conditions are back to being favorable again for harvesting corn in our area now that the recent storm system has departed. Hazzard also sent us the photos below, which were taken 2 miles east of Wilmington, Ill., of Dave and John Meyer harvesting corn on a beautiful Friday afternoon. As John told us:

"The corn had to be dumped from the combine into an auger wagon, then taken to the semi truck sitting out on the road because of the wet field conditions. The corn moisture is between 20-30 wetter than the last five-year average due to the weather conditions over the past 6 months. Soybean harvest is 95 percent done, but the corn is very slow to come out -- only 30 percent of corn acreage has been harvested in this area. This time last year everyone was done with both crops; what a difference a year makes..."

Fortunately, the good news according to Hazzard is that the yields in both soybeans and corn are either average or above average. Thanks John for the timely update as well as the photos!





Photos courtesy of John Hazzard

Friday marks the 17th consecutive day of milder than normal temperatures in Chicago--one of the five longest such spells on record in the month of November at Midway Airport. Weather observations there date back to 1928. With above normal readings expected to continue into early next week, the mild spell is on track to become this area's 2nd longest of any November. That so many above normal days have occurred is likely to surprise many Chicagoans. A heavy, week-long overcast peppered with bursts of light rain and, until Thursday, wind chill-generating gusts, have contributed to a much cooler "feel" to the air than readings alone might indicate. The month's 47.5-degree average temperature at O'Hare is the 20th warmest of the past 139 years, placing the month among the Chicago area's 14 percent of mildest Novembers. Estimates based on temperatures suggest furnace usage should be down 25 percent over typical levels up to this point in the month and 18 percent below the same period a year ago.


A stubborn low pressure responsible for five consecutive days of cloudy skies has lifted out of the area--but, moisture lingers in its wake. And, while clouds may break for passing sun in coming days, spells of overcast skies aren't likely to exit the area completely--fitting in a month which is historically the second cloudiest of the year (December is the cloudiest).


Daytime temperatures are predicted to rise several degrees in each of the next three days. But, indications of change in the weeks ahead abound. Two key cold weather indexes, which look at cold air availability in the arctic as well as the predicted buckling of the jet stream over the North Atlantic---a development which frequently ends up sending cold air spilling southward over the eastern U.S., including the Midwest---have turned negative. It's an indication of colder weather on the way. The chill appears likely to hit in bursts---the first to produce a rain-generating disturbance here late Monday into Tuesday. That push of cold air is to last through through Thanksgiving (next Thursday) and may deliver this area's coldest readings of the season to date. There are growing indications flurries or snow showers could sweep at least parts of the metro area Wednesday and Thursday. Still colder air appears a threat as December hits 12 days from now. That chilly spell could allow some sticking snow at some point in December's opening 5-days, according to several preliminary computer forecast scenarios.
 
West Coast hit by driving rains, huge mountain snows, 100 mph wind gusts
 
The storm pounding the West Coast Thursday has prompted warnings for all manner of extreme weather---from heavy rain and flooding, to mountain snows measured in feet, and high winds responsible for huge waves lashing the coastline. Gusts hit 103 mph at Rogue Valley International Airport near in southern Oregon near Medford Thursday.
 

Dear Tom,
I was married on Dec. 8, 1945 and it was a very warm day. A week later when my friend got married on Dec. 15 it was below zero. Can you provide the details?
Delores Faltynek Antioch
 
Dear Delores,
We asked climatologist Frank Wachowski to check the weather archives and he found your recollections to be right on---illustrating how quickly Chicago weather can change this time of the year. You wedding day was indeed very mild with a balmy high of 53 degrees. Your friend was not as fortunate as winter hit with a vengeance in the following week. A cold front dropped temperatures into the 20s and a major snowstorm followed on Dec.13 and 14 bringing about 4 inches of snow. Your friend's Dec. 15 wedding took place on a very wintry day with a high of just 11, a low of 2 below zero and 4 inches of snow on the ground.

 

Clouds cover area skies a 5th consecutive day Thursday and periods of rain are to continue. Wednesday's 0.17 inches at O'Hare made it the wettest day since late October. The day's 47-degree peak reading was the third consecutive day in which temperatures failed to escape the 40s. With a fourth day of 40s predicted Thursday, the metro area is in the midst of its longest cool spell since a set of seven consecutive 40s Oct. 10-16. 

To say it's been dreary is a bit of an understatement. Chicagoans have seen only 1 percent of the area's possible sun since Sunday---and November, typically the second-cloudiest month of the year here, is showing every sign of living up to its cloudy reputation over the coming week. The sluggish storm which has spun in place all week shrouding the area under a veil of clouds, is finally to lift out of the Midwest Friday. But computer models hold a fair amount of moisture in the lowest 5,000 feet of the atmosphere in the wake of the departing storm. This is more than adequate to produce clouds and could make sunshine a comparatively rare commodity.  What's more, suggestions that a wet new storm is to come together across the Midwest Monday is hardly a boon to those in search of sun. Though the details of its development aren't yet carved in stone, a number of forecast scenarios predict  strengthening over eastern Iowa and Missouri Monday, leading to the onset of chilly rains in Chicago Monday night and Tuesday.

Temperatures over much of the coming two weeks remain above seasonal norms, but display a downward glide. One lobe of chilly air is likely to be drawn into the Midwest on the blustery backside of next week's storm, producing a cool Wednesday and Thanksgiving Day. It's possible mid-week cooling will be sufficient to introduce snow or rain showers. But even colder air may loom beyond that. Though temperatures are likely to moderate after Thanksgiving (next Thursday,) preliminary indications suggest December---which is just 13 days away--may open on a wintry note as even colder air descends into the Chicago area. 
 
Historic odds of a trace or more of snow falling in November's 12 remaining days: 88 percent
 
The possibility of snow grows this time of year. Snowfall records in Chicago extend back 125 years to 1884.  At a least a trace of snow has fallen in 88 percent of those years between now and the start of December. Measurable snow (0.1 inches or more) has fallen in the same period in 60 percent of years and an inch of snow has fallen by December first 38 percent of the time.
 

Dear Tom,
I am putting in a bid for sidewalk snow removal in the Lincoln-Belmont-Ashland shopping area. Can you provide the average frequency of the number of snows per season of various amounts?
Bill Haderlein, Chicagoland Deck Cleaning & Sealing

Dear Bill,
Indeed we can. The following statistics are derived from 80 years (1929-2008) of Midway Airport snowfall data, courtesy of Chicago weather historian Frank Wachowski.

On average, Chicago receives at least one-half inch of snow 17 times per snow season. Snow storms in the range of 1-3 inches occur about 7 times; 4-6 inches, twice; 7-10 inches, once; more than 10 inches, about once every other year.

A note of caution: The number of storms that might occur in any given snow season varies greatly from year to year. The extreme winter of 1978-79 put down 10 snows in excess of 4 inches and a season total of 89.7 inches.

Joan Knight sent us this a gorgeous sunset picture taken in Lombard this past Friday the Nov. 13th. Wow, what a great shot!

Thanks Joan!


Photo courtesy of Joan Knight, Lombard, Illinois

Check this out! David Leonard sends us these shots of a rain gauge produced by his 2nd grade son Kyle as part of his science curriculum. Kyle's teacher is Mrs. Durkin of Willow Creek School in Woodridge, Illinois and provided him the instructions on how to make the
instrument. Leonard writes:

" It was pretty cool to see how a seven year old went about the process of creating this rain gauge. The pop bottle cut off at the top and inverted to serve as a rain collector, water was filled to a certain level to compensate for the different shape at the bottom and the placement of the ruler at the water level. His measurement of the rain received last night was approx. 0.5 cm."

Very cool indeed--and congratulations Kyle on a job well done!

Tom Skilling





Photos courtesy of David Leonard, Woodridge, Illinois