God Really Loves Chicagoland (live, to move, vacation)

[Mr Bigman]

Keep it coming. We need a wake up call?

Im tired of these mild winters we had for most of the duration of this century.

Bring the nasty weather if possible.

[Mr Bigman]

I said this last week to my folks as always that it was warming up and it looks like its going to stay that way according to weather reports.

This means spring come early again for Chicagoeans.

We are getting a snow tonight but nothing big as usual.

They say we had more sonw this year: BULL****. a few inches here and their don't make it a very snow winter.

Im sorry but we aren't getting any serious snows cuz its over for us. we can't stay cold long enough to snow it warms up above 40 which is global warming my friends.

I did hear weather Tom say we had a 60 in 1982 which was hard to believe for Christmas cuz it was always cold when i was a kiddy.

Snow lovers the only place your going to get any serious snow is in Wisconsin and thats were im going for awhile.

[prairiestate]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

I dont think we got 10 in most parts of Chicago. Many of the burbs did, but not Chicago.

It was officially 9.8" at Midway (which is in the city). Unfortunately, it was gone within a week. (Lousy 40 degree weather).

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by prairiestate

It was officially 9.8" at Midway (which is in the city). Unfortunately, it was gone within a week. (Lousy 40 degree weather).

I said most parts of the city.

[rgb123]

there has been a storm every weekend for the last 4 or 5 weeks, and now tonight, a holiday. I am keeping track because every single weekend my friends and I have tried to drive up to Wisconsin for snowboarding...while the snow is great we can't get there cause of the roads....seriously, its never this snowy in December -- its unusual to have this many storms this early in the winter and dammit it all that they happen on Friday and Saturday night.

Chicago proper must be getting really protected by that heat island.....we have been pretty much snow covered in my far northwest suburb since Thanksgiving, or ice covered, some brown here and there for a little while but the snow and ice never completley went away.

[Mr Bigman]

What is this Heat Island Thing with Chicago?

NYC which has almost as many Buildings as Chicago has a Heat Island but they get dumped on but we don't.

There other chities with alot of concrete but they get nasty weather but Chicago usually gets the fringe of many storms. You can get a foot of snow in Naperville or Waukegan but Chicago gets a couple of inches.

Do we really have a bubble over us pushing away the heavy snow? We got snow in 67 99 that were great but there just a memory now. I don't expect another 2 footer in my lifetime and cnannel 7 says we are in for a major warmup next week whuch doesn't suprise me a bit. And he put it like we are done with winter.

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by Mr Bigman

What is this Heat Island Thing with Chicago?

NYC which has almost as many Buildings as Chicago has a Heat Island but they get dumped on but we don't.

There other chities with alot of concrete but they get nasty weather but Chicago usually gets the fringe of many storms. You can get a foot of snow in Naperville or Waukegan but Chicago gets a couple of inches.

Do we really have a bubble over us pushing away the heavy snow? We got snow in 67 99 that were great but there just a memory now. I don't expect another 2 footer in my lifetime and cnannel 7 says we are in for a major warmup next week whuch doesn't suprise me a bit. And he put it like we are done with winter.

Its got something to do with the lake I think and urban heat island right next to it. The water temperature is usually so much different than the air temperature that it steers the weather systems right around us, not to mention having a large hot city throwing off tons of heat right next to the icy waters of lake Michigan. NYC usually gets missed by large snowstorms and severe weather too, so its nothing that unusual.

Here is a general rule of thumb in this area, in the winter the storms typically shoot to the north of Chicago and head dead on for the gap in densely built areas and target Gurnee to Racine, in the summer, storms will head right for Chicago, hit Joliet and dodge south of I-80 and head right for Park Forest, Matteson, and go into IN. It has to have something to do with the urban heat island and the water right next to it to be causing this.

[Mr Bigman]

So Chicago has the pefect ingretiance to avoid big weather systems?

Milwaukee has a simular situation right and they get pounded with snow from time to time.

Is this heat island effect new? Cuz we always had bad weather in the 70s and 80's.

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by Mr Bigman

So Chicago has the pefect ingretiance to avoid big weather systems?

Milwaukee has a simular situation right and they get pounded with snow from time to time.

Is this heat island effect new? Cuz we always had bad weather in the 70s and 80's.

Ehhh....I wouldn't really go that far. The "heat island" has to do with the buildings/streets/concrete. Not the lake. The sun hits all these things, and then they warm up and hold the heat in. When it hits rural areas, or farm fields, it doesn't really lock into the ground or buildings, just hits the green plants. This is why the street is BOILING hot on a summer day when you walk around. Once the sun is gone it takes hours for these surfaces to lose all that stored up heat. It normally makes it warmer in cities than in the country.

In the winter this doesn't really help a lot though, cause once it's below 20 degrees, all the heat island is going to do is warm things up to 25 or so - and that's still below freezing. It doesn't explain why we don't have huge storms like we use to in the past. Normally it's cloudy in winter and the buildings don't even get a chance to heat. I think we've just been lucky with warmer temps and storms that randomly track around the city.

The lake can help though, through the "lake effect". It cools us down a lot in the spring when winds tend to blow in from the east over the cold lake. It also keeps us a little warmer in the fall, but honestly not a lot. The winds normally blow from the west during fall, and the warm lake doesn't help cause it's to the east. Then of course there's lake effect snow, when winds blow across the lake in the winter and pick up moisture to drop on the city. This normally happens when a huge low pressure passes to the south of us, and the rotating winds start coming at us from the east after it passes.

It would be perfect if the winds blew from the west in spring and gave us the warmer temps the suburbs see, and then blew from the east in fall to warm the city from the lake waters...

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

It would be perfect if the winds blew from the west in spring and gave us the warmer temps the suburbs see, and then blew from the east in fall to warm the city from the lake waters...

The city is warmer by the lake in winter (for at least a couple months, if not longer), and cooler by the lake in summer.