The breadth of December’s chill across the Lower 48 has been stunning, extending from the Pacific Northwest to New England and south to northern Florida. It’s an important reason why snow now covers 43 percent of the country—two and a half times the area a year ago. Another 1.1” was added to Midway’s tally in bursts of snow early Friday, boosting the 2005-06 seasonal total there to 17.3”—5.5 times the amount by this date last year. It’s the city’s sixth snowiest open since 1928.
Chicago’s not alone with snow. Many Midwest cities have measured five or more times the snow on the books by this time last season. Just east of Duluth on western Lake Superior, snow has fallen non-stop since Tuesday night.
While Chicago has shivered, mild and rainy weather has pushed Anchorage, Alaska’s, average December temperature nearly 4 degrees warmer than Chicago’s: 23.7° vs. 19.8°.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
