That's not a metaphor. The polar vortex has descended upon Chicago, promising temperatures below -17°C tomorrow and Friday in the coldest December in years:
While the deep chill will be powered by the infamous polar vortex — the circulation of air around the Arctic Circle — meteorologists don't believe we're headed for anything like the winter of 2013-14 when Chicago suffered through its coldest four-month period ever. The polar bear at the Lincoln Park Zoo wouldn't even venture outdoors.
But Tom Skilling, WGN-TV's meteorologist, said people should not jump to conclusions from this week, when the high Thursday will be in the single digits. Friday will be warmer, but there will be snow and maybe freezing rain over the weekend.
"This week is going to have the coldest air most of us have felt in 11 months," Skilling said. "It's going to be brutally cold for the Bears game on Sunday. But there's no reason to believe that, because we’re in a current cold spell, that this by any means sets the tone for the rest of the winter."
So the winter might be like Donald Trump? Objectively bad, but maybe not as bad as Hitler?
It's not all about PETUS today:
- Via AVWeb, the FAA has issued an airworthiness directive requiring owners of Boeing 787-8 airplanes to reboot them at least every 21 days. I am not making this up.
- Trump, never a fan of intelligence of any kind, is sticking his fingers in his ears about Russian hacking of our election. Jeet Heer warns that this yet another way Trump is very dangerous. Plus, he's lying about the CIA's role in the Iraq WMD fiasco. It wasn't the CIA who lied; it was the Administration.
- By the way, Trump has the lowest approval ratings of any incoming president since 1988 (and probably since 1974).
- Oh, and we got about 200 mm of snow over the weekend. Parker's going to need a new pair of pairs of shoes.
Winter is here.
(Meteorological) Winter is less than a week old and already we've set a winter weather record. We got our first snowfall of the season yesterday, and the 163 mm we got officially in Chicago was the largest snowfall we've ever gotten for the first snow of the season.
Davenport, Iowa, got an inconvenient 259 mm. Yikes.
The Illinois State Climatologist reports on the autumn season, which for meteorologists ended Wednesday:
This was the 5th warmest November on record for Illinois, based on preliminary data. The statewide average temperature was 8.6°C, and 2.7°C above normal.
It was also the 2nd warmest fall on record for Illinois. The statewide average temperature for fall was 15.2°C, 2.8°C above normal. Only the fall of 1931 was warmer at 15.4°C The climatological fall months are September, October, and November.
It was an absolutely beautiful season here. That's one of the benefits to Chicago of anthropomorphic climate change.
Despite everything awful happening around the country, here in Chicago we've had unusually gorgeous weather. We've had 81% of possible sunshine this month, well above the normal 43%. And we've also had near-record heat, with today predicted to be 22°C, a whopping 14°C above normal.
Of course, tomorrow a cold front will come through to give us our first freeze since April, but hey, it's November.
For those of us in the northern hemisphere in places that observe daylight savings time on U.S. rules—that is, for most of the U.S. and Canada—this morning's sunrise was (or will be, west of the Rockies) the latest sunrise until 6 November 2027.
I've got to say, the sun rising around 7:30 has not helped my mornings. Tonight we return to standard time, putting tomorrow's sunrise at 6:30, and making it easier to get out of bed Monday morning.
Of course, from Decmeber 1st to February 4th, the sun will rise after 7 here in Chicago. And by this time next week we'll have less than 10 hours of daylight.
At least I'm not in places along the western edge of a time zone, like Lafayette Landing, Mich., where the sun didn't rise until 8:48 local time this morning. I'd bet they've been ready for a change for weeks now.
You couldn't script the game better: tied at 6 going into the 9th, then the 10th, then a rain delay, then a 2-run homer top of 10 followed by a nail-biting run and out to end the game. The Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years. And Chicago went nuts.
There are, as you can imagine, a ton of stories about it. The best I thought came from the Guardian, but of course the Chicago Tribune, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the New York Times, the Atlantic, and Chicago Public Media all had things to say. And let's not forget the Onion.
The New York Times explained how the Cubs did it. Crain's Chicago Business said the curse is finally dead. And the Washington Post provided context around how the world has changed since 1908.
AdWeek highlighted a Nike commercial that aired right after the final out. Crain's reported that the game had the highest ratings of any baseball game since 1991, and the highest-rated sporting event in Chicago history, with 40 million people watching.
DNAInfo chuckled that more people called in sick today than usual (myself included). We'll probably miss some more work tomorrow because of the parade, which starts at Wrigley Field and ends at Grand Park. Metra, our local heavy-rail system, is throwing every locomotive and rail car they have into the morning commute and tossing their schedules tomorrow, and asking people to work from home if they can.
It was an incredible night. I'm still amazed and agog. And hung over—but that's another story.
I'm having trouble typing these words: The Cubs have won the World Series.
I'm sure I'll have more to say later.
But: the Cubs have won the World Series.
Where do you go from there? A woman president, maybe?
Holy fuck.
I hope against all the evidence I see that 2016 isn't the best year of my life. And I will sweat day and night to ensure this is merely the landing on the staircase.
Meanwhile, my neighborhood is all sirens and shouting, so...I'll leave the wordsmithing until later.
But the Cubs have won the World Series.
The Cubs.
Have won.
The World Series.
I don't even know what to do with that fact yet.
The Cubs' World Series Game 7 tonight in Cleveland may be "the biggest game in Chicago sports history," according to Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. I agree.
But still, I'm trying to maintain perspective:
- This is the only the second time in franchise history they've played in November. Last night was the first.
- They won the National League pennant after a 71-year drought. That's not trivial.
- If Cleveland wins, maybe they'll be so happy there it will tip Ohio into Hillary Clinton's column.
- They have played some amazing baseball during this series, and during this season.
- They'll be back next year.
So let's see what happens. And go, Cubs, go!