Late Snow Doesn't Mean Mild Winter Ahead For Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's November 29th and the Chicago area has still not yet received any measurable snowfall.
Climatologist Mike Timlin of the Midwest Regional Climate Center said the Chicago area normally receives a measurable amount of snow in mid-November. WBBM's Bernie Tafoya reports.
The latest date on record for the first measurable snowfall of the season, he said, is December 20, 2012.
But, Timlin warns, just because a first snowfall comes later than usual is not a projection of how snowy or not the winter will be.
Best predictions, he said, are in El Nino and La Nina years. Last year was an El Nino year, in which the Chicago area had a warmer than usual winter. This year, in a La Nina year. He said, it could be colder and snowier than normal if that kind of weather gets pushed down from northern Minnesota. Otherwise, warmer conditions from the Ohio River Valley could lessen those cold, snowy conditions.
"We're kind of on that borderline where you're not really sure how that's going to break for us," Timlin said.
City officials have said they expect a lot more snow than usual this winter. Earlier this month, Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Charles Williams said weather forecasters seem to think Chicago will get 43 to 50 inches of snow this winter, compared to a normal winter, which would be about 36 inches.
Timlin is rooting for "cold and snow" because he just likes winter.
