Coldest winter in 8 years to get even colder

Winter 2008-09 -- the coldest in 8 years -- is to turn brutally cold the remainder of
the work week once snow exits Wednesday. Temperatures drop below zero Wednesday night and
may remain there through Friday morning, producing what could be a 58 consecutive-hour
stretch of subzero temperatures over many parts of the area. Only in the Loop and near Lake
Michigan may the mercury struggle to zero (or just above) for a brief period Thursday --
though that's not guaranteed.
A full calendar day hasn't failed to break above zero officially in Chicago since Feb.
3, 1996, when the high was 5 degrees below zero and the low was minus 19.
The snow Wednesday -- the 26th day with measurable snow this season -- is the product of
the latest Alberta Clipper. With the system's storm center tracking to the city's south,
winds just above the surface may take on an easterly component -- blowing off the lake
-- for several hours Wednesday afternoon, producing lake snow showers in addition to the
system's 1-4 inch snowfall.
21st COLDEST WINTER OF PAST 139 YEARS
The 22.4 average temperature since Dec. 1 is 7 degrees colder than the same period a
year ago.
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune