12th-14th remind anyone of February 1983? A generally awful winter as I recall, went cold for a week or two, with a 20" bomb. Although that may have been a Nino year?
I have a feeling Chicago will have some of its disappointment salved in the next 14 days or so. Then we hope that the models are correct in reforming the big Gulf of Alaska cyclones further and further westward. I'm cautiously optimistic.