Winter 2025/26 Banter Thread

[A-L-E-K]

Happens i guess 

 

 

 

[roardog]

1 hour ago, A-L-E-K said:

Happens i guess 

 

 

 

Denver is the new Miami.

[A-L-E-K]

6 minutes ago, roardog said:

Denver is the new Miami.

Prayers 4 thundersnow

[Brian D]

February 28

1981: Ice is out on Lake Minnetonka. Boats are enjoying the early thaw.

For Saturday, February 28, 2026
1900 - A massive storm spread record snows from Kansas to New York State. Snowfall totals ranged up to 17.5 inches at Springfield IL and 43 inches at Rochester NY, with up to 60 inches in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. (David Ludlum)
1952 - An intense storm brought coastal sections of southeastern Massachusetts to a halt, stranding 3000 motorists on Lower Cape, and leaving ten thousand homes on the Cape without electricity. Winds gusting to 72 mph created mountainous snowdrifts of the 18 inches of snow which buried Nantucket and Hyannis. A barometric pressure reading of 29.02 inches was reported at the center of the storm. (The Weather Channel)
1987 - A powerful storm produced severe thunderstorms in Louisiana and Mississippi early in the day. About mid morning a monstrous tornado touched down near Moselle MS and grew to a width of two miles as it passed near Laurel MS. The tornado traveled a distance of 40 miles killing six persons, injuring 350 others, and causing 28.5 million dollars damage. The tornado swept homes right off their foundations, and tossed eighteen wheel trucks about like toys. Strong straight line winds associated with the powerful storm system gusted to 70 mph at Jonesboro AR and Carbondale IL. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1988 - Thunderstorms in California produced severe weather during the early morning hours. Strong thunderstorm winds, gusting to 74 mph, downed trees in the Sacramento area. Unseasonably mild weather prevailed in the northwestern U.S. The afternoon high of 71 degrees at Portland OR was a February record. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1989 - Thunderstorms in the southeast corner of the nation produced winds gusts to 58 mph at Fort Lauderdale FL, and a total of seven inches of rain. Heavy snow whitened parts of the Northern Plateau and the Northern Rockies, with ten inches reported at Marion MT. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
1990 - Showers and thunderstorms over the Southern Plains Region capped a record wet February for parts of Oklahoma. Totals for the month ranged up to 9.11 inches at McCurtain, with 4.63 inches reported at Oklahoma City. Snow and sleet fell across northern Oklahoma, with four inches reported at Freedom and Jefferson. Snow also spread across southern Kansas into Missouri and Arkansas, with six inches of snow reported at Harrison AR. In Alaska, February temperatures at Nome averaged 21 degrees below normal, ranging from -38 degrees to 29 degrees during the month. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
2012 - The first confirmed February tornado in Nebraska state history struck Lincoln and Logan Counties shortly after 4PM. The EF-0 tornado was on the ground intermittently for up to six minutes and traveled 3 miles before dissipating in southwest Logan County. The path of the tornado was over open rangeland and cropland where limited damage occurred. Patches of snow were still on the ground at the time. (NWS North Platte)

[A-L-E-K]

hitting average at ORD seemed like a lock after the hot start and dust slant sticking but it's gonna be close

[Cary67]

3 hours ago, A-L-E-K said:

hitting average at ORD seemed like a lock after the hot start and dust slant sticking but it's gonna be close

Interesting Madison sits at 41.5" while RFD at 24" considering the eastern trough pattern dominating a lot of the winter. That 70 miles shows up significantly in seasonal averages. RFD at 37" vs 50" for Madison. They even exceed Milwaukee seasonally which seems odd given MKE LES  potential to fluff up totals.

Edit: Madison 51.8" seasonal average, MKE 48"

[DocATL]

hitting average at ORD seemed like a lock after the hot start and dust slant sticking but it's gonna be close

This is one of the more remarkable aspects of this winter. To go potentially 7+ weeks with one very light duster from early February to the later half of March.

Also as we’ve come to know all too well; it may very well get cold but no guarantees for accumulating snowfall.

[A-L-E-K]

hard pass on this look

[SchaumburgStormer]

1 hour ago, A-L-E-K said:

hard pass on this look

100%. Done with that single digit bullshit 

[sbnwx85]

[Powerball]

1 hour ago, A-L-E-K said:

hard pass on this look

 

Has there been a Spring where that doesn't happen?

Even 2012 has a hard freeze in April... 

[Chicago Storm]

12 minutes ago, Powerball said:

 

Has there been a Spring where that doesn't happen?

Even 2012 has a hard freeze in April... 

essentially.

March 2012 (53.5) was warmer than April 2012 (50.7) in Chicago.

[Chicago Storm]

12 hours ago, DocATL said:

This is one of the more remarkable aspects of this winter. To go potentially 7+ weeks with one very light duster from early February to the later half of March.

kinda unremarkable, if you dig into chicago weather history.

it happens more than you think, that is a lack of snow during winter months at times. i'm not just talking recently over the past few years either.

[DocATL]

kinda unremarkable, if you dig into chicago weather history.
it happens more than you think, that is a lack of snow during winter months at times. i'm not just talking recently over the past few years either.

I’m sure but remarkable when you think about how the winter started. The ebbs and flows I suppose.

[Jackstraw]

Man I'm glad this rain train is staying to my south. We've gotten over an inch but to be honest our soil has been quite moist coming out of the thaw last month. I won't mind inch here there through May. besides keeping the mud to a minimum it is extra good for the coming mushroom season. Heavy heavy rains will shut it down.

Here's a pic if anyone wants to start training 

[A-L-E-K]

We're not the only ones dealing with long term drought

 

[A-L-E-K]

still there 

[cyclone77]

Ready 2 frostbite

[A-L-E-K]

even with the incoming torch, leaf out should still be early stages 

[McHenrySnow]

6 hours ago, A-L-E-K said:

We're not the only ones dealing with long term drought

 

A majority of the country is at least abnormally dry. Most systems dry up the closer they get to reality. 

[sbnwx85]

40 minutes ago, A-L-E-K said:

still there 

It's hard to get a good March lake-effect event down here, but I think we could pull it off.

[Cary67]

16 hours ago, Chicago Storm said:

kinda unremarkable, if you dig into chicago weather history.

it happens more than you think, that is a lack of snow during winter months at times. i'm not just talking recently over the past few years either.

 Outside of LES zones one might think hoping to track numerous winter storms in this area every year is by in large a waste of time. Or at least an exercise in long term patience. Except for some favorable pattern years ie 13-14,07-08, and some big dogs; most years the reality of our snow climate falls well short of weather enthusiasts tracking hopes. 

[BeastFromTheEast]

1 hour ago, A-L-E-K said:

still there 

The latest subzero temp on record at Chicago is -1, 3/22/1888

 

and only 17 total dips below zero on record for the month of March. 

[michsnowfreak]

13 hours ago, DocATL said:

I’m sure but remarkable when you think about how the winter started. The ebbs and flows I suppose.

Absolutely ebbs and flows. Its just how the weather goes. Its VERY rare to get continuous action all winter long, and Chicago had a fairly snowy Nov, Dec, & Jan. Imagine how it is on the east coast when snowfall is even far less frequent, and not knowing how many years til the next big noreaster.

1890-91: Chicagos snow depth on Jan 5th was 1"...they wouldnt see that again until 4.7" of snow hit March 2nd.

1930-31: Chicago had a dry winter with very little snowfall. The snow depth never exceeded 1" through February. In fact, after a snow depth of 1" on Jan 21st, Chicago would see bare ground (few days of T depth) until March 7th when a 16.2" snowstorm belted them.

1991-92: February saw no snow on the ground, but a 8.8" snowstorm hit Chicago March 21st.

2016-17: Jan-Feb combined for just 0.6" of snow at Chicago. No days had 1"+ snowcover from Dec 26 until March 13th, when a 7.3" snowstorm hit.

Theres many more similar examples.

[McHenrySnow]

18 minutes ago, Cary67 said:

 Outside of LES zones one might think hoping to track numerous winter storms in this area every year is by in large a waste of time. Or at least an exercise in long term patience. Except for some favorable pattern years ie 13-14,07-08, and some big dogs; most years the reality of our snow climate falls well short of weather enthusiasts tracking hopes. 

I've lived here for 5 winters now and we only cracked 30" twice even though our season average is roughly 37" give or take. While climate change can mean bigger storms, it also means warmer weather and I assume it's only going to get more difficult year after year to get the right combination. I would not be surprised to see the average snowfall for this decade fall several inches, unless something extreme happens in the remaining 3. 1 of which will be an El Nino. I'm also concerned by how dry it has been the majority of time I've lived here. Lived in the city proper prior, and don't honestly remember how wet/dry it was b/c I didn't have a yard or plants that needed watered. Since moving here, it has seemed the city has gotten some extreme rainfall events that were relatively localized and didn't affect us up here. I'm guessing heat island has something to do with that. While it's overall very depressing as a lover of all things winter, the extreme weather events will at least be exciting (unless/until they destroy my house). Didn't plan on going all Day After Tomorrow on you.......

[McHenrySnow]

Just now, McHenrySnow said:

I've lived here for 5 winters now and we only cracked 30" twice even though our season average is roughly 37" give or take. While climate change can mean bigger storms, it also means warmer weather and I assume it's only going to get more difficult year after year to get the right combination. I would not be surprised to see the average snowfall for this decade fall several inches, unless something extreme happens in the remaining 3. 1 of which will be an El Nino. I'm also concerned by how dry it has been the majority of time I've lived here. Lived in the city proper prior, and don't honestly remember how wet/dry it was b/c I didn't have a yard or plants that needed watered. Since moving here, it has seemed the city has gotten some extreme rainfall events that were relatively localized and didn't affect us up here. I'm guessing heat island has something to do with that. While it's overall very depressing as a lover of all things winter, the extreme weather events will at least be exciting (unless/until they destroy my house). Didn't plan on going all Day After Tomorrow on you.......

And ftr, I do realize my data set is very limited, so not making huge extrapolations off of 5 years, just generally commenting on what has happened thus far. 

[A-L-E-K]

have had quite a few big dogs imby over the last decade or so, very blessed

[McHenrySnow]

20 minutes ago, A-L-E-K said:

have had quite a few big dogs imby over the last decade or so, very blessed

"quite a few" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. you did get a lot of LES a few winters ago in that one storm that missed the NW burbs and you got lucky again this year in a similar setup, and we all got a good snow in November last year, but I honestly don't recall a single other "big dog." of course, i don't know what your criteria for that wording is, but imo, it has to be double digits. I do recall 16-17 being a miserable, practically non-existent winter after the first two weeks of December. I also remember getting screwed in 2015 by the warm lake in the November storm where O'hare still managed 11" - of course, that is over a decade ago at this point (hard to fathom tbh). 

Edit: Just remembered February 2018 was rocking for a week, while I was in Mexico. smdh. 

[A-L-E-K]

24 minutes ago, McHenrySnow said:

"quite a few" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. you did get a lot of LES a few winters ago in that one storm that missed the NW burbs and you got lucky again this year in a similar setup, and we all got a good snow in November last year, but I honestly don't recall a single other "big dog." of course, i don't know what your criteria for that wording is, but imo, it has to be double digits. I do recall 16-17 being a miserable, practically non-existent winter after the first two weeks of December. I also remember getting screwed in 2015 by the warm lake in the November storm where O'hare still managed 11" - of course, that is over a decade ago at this point (hard to fathom tbh). 

Edit: Just remembered February 2018 was rocking for a week, while I was in Mexico. smdh. 

[Chicago Storm]

30 minutes ago, McHenrySnow said:

"quite a few" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. you did get a lot of LES a few winters ago in that one storm that missed the NW burbs and you got lucky again this year in a similar setup, and we all got a good snow in November last year, but I honestly don't recall a single other "big dog." of course, i don't know what your criteria for that wording is, but imo, it has to be double digits. I do recall 16-17 being a miserable, practically non-existent winter after the first two weeks of December. I also remember getting screwed in 2015 by the warm lake in the November storm where O'hare still managed 11" - of course, that is over a decade ago at this point (hard to fathom tbh). 

Edit: Just remembered February 2018 was rocking for a week, while I was in Mexico. smdh. 

you forgot this one...