Daylight saving time has come and gone this year, and still, Chicago hasn’t seen a measurable snow.
Even Seattle’s done better than that.
Scattered snow showers on Monday amounted to only a trace at O’Hare Airport, making for the 281st day in a row without measurable snowfall in Chicago—a new record for the usually snowy Midwestern city. A ground-whitening snowfall hasn’t been observed in Chicago since March 4—a week before daylight saving time kicked off, and nine days prior to Seattle’s final dusting of the 2011-12 winter, a 0.9-inch snowfall on March 13.
Until yesterday, the longest snow-free stretch in Chicago history stood at 280 days, set back in 1994, when the city went from March 1 to Dec. 5 without measuring any of the white stuff. According to the National Weather Service in Chicago, the Windy City averages 226 days between the final snowfall of the winter season and the first snow of the next. Typically, measurable snow in Chicago falls all the way into early April—but the chances for that went out the window in record fashion this spring, as a string of 80-degree days propelled the city to its warmest March on record.
Chicago still could have avoided a record-setting snowless streak had fall’s first coating of snow managed to arrive somewhat on time—on average, the city receives its first measurable snowfall on Nov. 16—but last month brought just flurries, and no accumulation.
Adding insult to injury, the snow-proud city is now in danger of breaking the all-time record for its latest first snow of the season—a mark established in 1965, when Chicago wasn’t blanketed with an accumulating snowfall until Dec. 16. There remains a chance that the Windy City could dodge this snow futility record by measuring some of the white stuff via a moisture-laden system arriving this weekend, but as of now, temperatures with the system are expected to remain too warm for snow.
Rain instead of snow—sounds more like Seattle than Chicago, doesn’t it?
Except here, it’s only been a 272-day wait.
