Thursday dawns foggy and drizzly in the midst of Chicago’s mildest daybreak temperatures in 17 days. Not since a 39° low on Nov. 28 has it been any milder here. The flood of mild, moist air into the area in combination with the natural settling of snow since last Thursday’s snowstorm has trimmed six inches from the area’s still-extensive snowpack at Midway Airport in just the past 5 days—from 11” last Friday to 5” by late Wednesday evening.
A burst of snow early Wednesday produced over an inch in surrounding areas, including 1.5” at Antioch, 1.1” at Arlington Heights and 1.8” at Lake Villa—north and northwest of the city—while 2.1” fell at Plainfield. Downstate Springfield reported 3.5” before a switch to rain occurred.
With Midway’s 0.2” of snow Wednesday, the seasonal tally reached 16”, the 7th snowiest early season tally since 1928.
-Tom Skilling
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
