No Snow On Ground In Chicago In Jan-Feb; 1st Time In 146 Years Of Record-Keeping

[hatrack]

Chicago isn't exactly known for having mild, snowless winters. The city is prone to frequent Arctic outbreaks with temperatures plunging below zero Fahrenheit, along with frequent light snowfalls and occasional blizzards.

This year, however, the weather pattern across the U.S. brought a historic reprieve to the most winter-weary Chicago residents. For the first time in 146 years of record-keeping, there was no snow on the ground on any day during January and February.

The snowless streak was punctuated by frequent bouts of record warm weather, with numerous daily and monthly records toppling during February in particular. During the period from Feb. 17 to 22, the high temperature was between 66 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit at O'Hare International Airport. The city logged just three days during February when the high temperature stayed in the 20s.

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Link to tweet

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http://mashable.com/2017/02/28/chicago-breaks-146-year-weather-record/#gh.WJhNbVkqH

[Island Blue]

1. Nothing to see here, move along ...

[OnlinePoker]

2. Who is Michael Ventrice

and why does he think 28 Feb is the last official day of winter? My almanac says is 20 March this year.

[hatrack]

3. Meteorological Winter . . .

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Meteorologists and climatologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months based on the annual temperature cycle as well as our calendar. We generally think of winter as the coldest time of the year and summer as the warmest time of the year, with spring and fall being the transition seasons, and that is what the meteorological seasons are based on. Meteorological spring includes March, April, and May; meteorological summer includes June, July, and August; meteorological fall includes September, October, and November; and meteorological winter includes December, January, and February.

Meteorological observing and forecasting led to the creation of these seasons, and they are more closely tied to our monthly civil calendar than the astronomical seasons are. The length of the meteorological seasons is also more consistent, ranging from 90 days for winter of a non-leap year to 92 days for spring and summer. By following the civil calendar and having less variation in season length and season start, it becomes much easier to calculate seasonal statistics from the monthly statistics, both of which are very useful for agriculture, commerce, and a variety of other purposes.

Learn more about the monthly, seasonal, and yearly global and U.S. climates in our State of the Climate reports. Get the latest temperature, precipitation, drought, and hazards outlooks from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

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https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/news/meteorological-versus-astronomical-seasons

[hatrack]

5. Oh, and he's a Meteorology Ph.D who works for IBM

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-ventrice-0042b130

[OnlinePoker]

6. Thank-you for both of those.

I've never heard the term meteorological winter before.