December - a month without mercy
As if the weather wasn't crummy enough Monday, it was crummy again Tuesday and it looks like it's only going to get crummier.
Once again, December shows no mercy.
The National Weather Service says the Chicago area has already received about double its normal helping of snow and (other) precipitation so far this month. And that's not counting an additional 4 to 5 inches of snow expected on the ground by Wednesday morning. Or the freezing rain that might follow Thursday.
On the bright side, it's supposed to warm up to 25 degrees for at least a while Wednesday. That is, the sun will be shining just long enough to create the possibility of freezing rain Thursday.
Things weren't much different last year.
In the first half of December 2007, the region saw 8.7 inches of snow and 2.21 inches of rain, sleet and other precipitation compared to 8.5 inches and 2.46 inches in the same time period this year. Meteorologist Stephen Rodriguez of the National Weather Service in Romeoville said the usual levels of snow and other precipitation are 3.6 inches and 1.28 inches, respectively. So we're ahead of schedule.
It's still too early to say whether it will be a white Christmas, Rodriguez said, but there's a 40 percent chance it will be colder and wetter than normal.
Then again, maybe Santa will bring some sun.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=258698">Images from Tuesday's snowstorm</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=258636">December - a month without mercy</a></li> </ul> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=258753">Cleanup continues on Tuesday's storm</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>