Best wishes to WGN's Tom Skilling

 

[VIDEO] I'm sorry I didn't tune in tonight for the longtime Channel 9 meterologist Tom Skilling. On Wednesday night he signed off for the last time on Channel 9 and soon we'll be seeing more of Demetrious Ivory giving us our nightly weather updates.

It's sad to see longtime personalities move on from their most familiar roles. I want to wish Skilling the best in his retirement. He will be missed.

Here on this blog you can check current temperatures and current conditions at the top of this blog just under the blog title.

EDIT: This is about Tom Skilling if you're a fan find him at facebook.com/TomSkilling

How to beat the heat?

 

[VIDEO] As I write this at 12:00 Noon the temperature is 97°F here in Chicago - according to Accuweather - and we're in a serious heatwave which actually started on Wednesday. This WGN-TV report shows cooling centers open around the Chicago area. 

If you are in need of a cooling shelter please call 311. Here's a link from the City of Chicago for six community service centers utilized as cooling areas. Masks are currently required however. Dang you coronavirus! 

I hope you're all staying warm out there... #Chiberia

 Well, I'm glad there wasn't a lot of snow Thursday night. At the same time it was a beast to get around if the streets and expressways weren't clear.

The snow has given way to frigid temperatures as I look on my phone this morning at about 9:30 AM -5°F out there according to my Yahoo weather app. I hope you have heat at home, if not from Mayor Lori Lightfoot on twitter, there are warming centers out there for you.

Winter Storm is coming! DFSS six community service centers operates as warming centers & are open from 9am-5pm. Our Garfield Center is available 24/7 to connect residents to shelter!

Call 3-1-1 to find your nearest warming center & for well being checks! #StayWarmChicago ❄️ pic.twitter.com/Bvszwnll9N

— Chicago Department of Family & Support Services (@ChiFamSupport) December 22, 2022

Of course call 311 if you want more updated information on warming shelters.

How are you preparing for the winter storm?

 

[VIDEO] This WGN report shows shoppers going to their local Pete's Fresh Market in Matteson to stock on food and supplies. I'm sure there could be a report on going to a hardware store picking up shovels, salt or snowmelt among other things to dig out of the snow.

Here's a report from NBC 5 about the snow storm. Of course I would recommend using a weather app on your phone - iPhone especially - I like to use the WGN weather app to check radar. Of course you can use it to check for weather forecasts also.

I hope you don't have to get out of the house once the storm hits of course save for having to go to work. :(

Also I'm hearing about very low temps, time to buy a new coat also. BRRR...

CBS Chicago: This is the longest weekend of the year

 

[VIDEO] Turn your clocks back one hour this weekend, Daylight Savings Time will end at 2 AM in the wee hours of Sunday Morning. Of course we fall back and gain an hour which is how WBBM-TV meteorologist Laura Bannon explains makes this particular weekend the longest weekend of the year.

Turn your clocks back an hour today for the time adjustment on Sunday. And have a good one today, it's a bit windy and wet today!

95th/State on February 1, 2021

 

[VIDEO] I shot this video after the snowfall of January 30 & 31, 2021. You see a mini-loader on this day removing snow on the sidewalks around the former gas station and polish sausage stand. Basically shoveling the snow and dumping it onto the vacant lot behind the fence.

You also see what I showed in a video from 2016, the lot along State Street near the 95th Red Line terminal is now vacant any of the longtime structures that were there are now a memory. Now the next question is what's next on that corner.

WGN: City prepares for over a week of bitter cold, warming centers open

 

[VIDEO] Rob Sneed reports on the weather as it's expected to get very cold for the next week. The city has warming centers if you need somewhere to stay warm for 24 hrs. Call 311 for a location near you, and they even list some warming center sites within the city.

Weather forecasters: Snowstorm in Chicago will be followed by ‘coldest temps of the season’

Thankfully for most of the winter we largely escaped heavy snow and very cold temps. And then I see this in the news:

There’s a “high chance” of 3 inches of snow by Thursday morning, followed by plummeting temperatures throughout the day that could reach below zero by nighttime, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Jake Petr.

“We’re forecasting the coldest temperatures of the season,” he said.

Thursday morning, temperatures will be in the 20s, dropping to the teens by 3 p.m. and falling into the single digits by 7 or 8 p.m., he said.

Chicago could have a windchill of 10 degrees below zero at its coldest, Petr said. Areas west of the metro area could see windchills as low as negative 20 degrees.

The Chicago area hasn’t seen temperatures so low in nearly a year, Petr said. The last time Chicago recorded a below zero temperature was March 4, 2019, he said.

But the “quick shot of cold air” won’t last long, Petr said.

“Temperatures will rebound quickly by Saturday, when we’ll be in the 30s,” he said. The high for Sunday is forecast for 39 degrees.

Probably time to share info on warming centers for those of you who know someone that could use this information. 

Experiment #PolarVortex

I saw a few people perform this experiment during our recent cold snap. Boil some water and throw it up into the air once the temps fall to a certain level. See what happens in this ig video from Whitney Young High School.

View this post on Instagram

Ever wonder what principal Dr. Kenner does during a snow day? #SnowDay #chiberia #staywarm

A post shared by Whitney M. Young Magnet HS (@whitneymyounghs) on Jan 31, 2019 at 10:12am PST

It's cold out there!!!

The Chicago Police put this information out on twitter this past Saturday with regards to finding a warming center during this wave of frigid temps. As always call 311 to find a warming center near you or for a well-being check. And also noted in the tweet, police stations are warming stations as well.

Also, don’t forget that ALL @Chicago_Police Stations are warming centers, open to anyone in need of a warm place to get out from the cold. Contact 311 for assistance finding a warming center or to arrange a well being check. Dial 911 for emergencies.

📸: Officer Andre Van Vegten pic.twitter.com/kMrKmBnL2Q

— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) January 26, 2019

CPS schools are closed on Wednesday #Chiberia

Many were concerned, especially on social media and with temps going to very chilly lows CPS is cancelling classes on Wednesday.

BREAKING: Chicago Public Schools has announced that schools will be closed Wednesday due to sub-zero temperatures and potentially record-setting windchill values. https://t.co/IstgmNO2yh

— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) January 29, 2019

And here's the official word by the CPS' CEO

The safety of our students is the district’s highest priority. All afterschool activities will be canceled tomorrow, January 29th. All CPS schools will be closed on Wednesday, January 30th.

— Janice Jackson, EdD (@janicejackson) January 29, 2019

If you're looking for a warming center here's some information posted at The Sixth Ward. Feel free to call 311 to find one near you.

Artistmac on the politics of snow

[VIDEO] While I didn't want to post another artistmac video so soon after I already posted one on Monday, however, with the snow coming down at this moment this is appropriate. Not a blizzard at least, but this is heavy snow regardless.

Meanwhile, the last video by artistmac was really about complaining about a ridge or snow in his backyard. The video above tells us about the politics of snow about dibs, also the city shouldn't plow alleys or private property, and of course private property owners especially businesses should shovel the snow on their sidewalks.

Also artistmac is pretty saavy. Let's say you see a city plow for example plowing an alley if you have your fancy iPhone or android device or a Blackberry snap a photo or record video. You can send this to your alderman's office you can also send it to the local TV news stations. He does state we are in sweeps period.

For your weather needs check the WGN Weather page. And be careful when shoveling your snow!

BTW, just remember that we're almost a month away from spring. We're almost at the point where the cold weather and the snow becomes rain storms and warmer weather.

Standing water at Abbott Park

After Thursday's heavy rain this is how Abbott Park at 95th & Michigan had fared earlier this afternoon. After the heavy snow melts and with heavy precipitation it seems prone to standing water in the grassy areas of the park. And standing water on the sidewalks surrounding the park.

Abbott Park flooded #weather #rain #chicagogram #chicagoparks

A post shared by The Sixth Ward (@thesixthward) on Mar 30, 2017 at 12:20pm PDT

If you have any weather related pics send them to us or tag us on Instagram.

Crossposted from sixthward.us

#chiberia: CPS classes are cancelled due to the snow...

You may have seen this announcement if you follow CPS' FB and Twitter profiles. This is important news so sorry if this is breaking into your enjoyment of tonight's Super Bowl between the Patriots and Seahawks.

Also I wanted to share with you the city plow tracker to see if the city is coming down your street to clear it.

If you want to see a radar picture here's WGN's Chicago Weather Center radar.

CPS schools are also closed Thur. January 8, 2015

In addition to the info above you may also find this information embedded below via CPS' twitter page. Feel free to retweet if you have a twitter account. The information is primarily regarding city warming centers during the current cold snap. Of course as always there's 311 for any info. on city warming centers.

All six @ChiFamSupport Community Service Centers are serving as Warming Centers from 9a-8p. pic.twitter.com/GvR1CYJ5RH
— ChicagoPublicSchools (@ChiPubSchools) January 8, 2015

CPS schools closed due to weather and other information

Graphic above is shared via CPS' FB page.

Also in light of the recent cold snap we're experiencing right now 9th Ward Ald. Anthony Beale also sent this information to his constituents today. Ald. Beale's information informs us of a wind chill warning and also city services or warming centers for those city residents who are seeking warm shelter during this winter weather.

Of course you can also call 311 for the location of any city warming center.

Tribune: End of winter? We have records to break, more snow to shovel

Here's some info posted last month on resources during this latest cold snap! It seems this winter weather isn't going away anytime soon although thankfully the worst was over last month. This winter seemed to have broken some records. From the Tribune:

The worst of winter should be over by the end of February. That would be Friday, when it will still be miserably cold. Then we'll get more snow, maybe a lot of it.

Temperatures are expected to drop below zero overnight Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night as we again get hit with cold air "in abundance," in the words of WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling.

That's in keeping with a winter that has already delivered 22 days of lows below zero, Skilling noted. The 129-year-old record is 25 days below zero, a record that's clearly in danger.

Skilling says temperatures will average about 22 degrees below normal for the next five days, 20 degrees below normal for the five days after that, and 13 degrees below normal for the five days after that – which gets us into the middle of March.

This has been the third coldest winter in 143 years of recorded Chicago weather history, Skilling said, with about 7 days in 10 since November producing below-normal temperatures. Meteorological winter ends with February, marking the close of what is usually the coldest three months.

AND....we can expect more snow to come this way by the weekend. Although hopefully not the amount of snow we had through the month of January and February.

ALSO, for a brief time I took the weather widget down and now it's back up top in the sidebar. When I checked before writing this post it registered at only 8 degrees that's at about 12 PM on Wednesday.

School is back in session on Wednesday and weather updates

This is starting to feel like a ritual. We just did that the first full-week in January and just like at that time classes resume on Wednesday. The extended forecast still has cold temps through rest of the week but only in the teens and unfortunately more snow is expected.

Remember spring is just around the corner!

CPS schools will remain closed on Tuesday

Schools remain closed on Tuesday. You can recieve further updates via either CPS' FB page or CPS' Twitter account. In addition, you can call the 773.553.1000 for any further updates from CPS via recorded message.

As always there is an Accuweather widget at the top of the sidebar for your convenience. Feel free to use it to check out current conditions or visit the Accuweather website for weather forecasts.

Now just for the sake of talking some CPS closures news, I would like to share this Sun-Times article which discusses not only city Alderman who are unhappy with CPS plans to close schools in light of the weather emergency. They also discuss how people around the city are coping with the cold weather.

How are you coping with the cold weather so far?

Also 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale cancelled the community meeting that was scheduled for Tuesday night. Also Ald. Beale sent out an e-mail on warming centers througout the city. As always call 311 for information on warming centers!

Finally the Tribune has news on alternative programming for children while schools are closed during this "polar vortex".

The YMCA of Metro Chicago is providing “School’s Out Day’’ activities at five Chicago facilities today and Tuesday, according to spokeswoman Michelle Damico.

Kids will be doing interactive crafts, active physical group games, skits and drama and other fun activities from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the following locations:

McCormick Tribune: 1834 North Lawndale Ave.

High Ridge: 2424 W. Touhy Ave.

South Side: 6330 S. Stony Island Ave.

South Chicago: 3039 East 91st St.

Rauner Family: 2700 S. Western Ave.

Check back for updates.

CPS schools are closed on Monday

The notice above was posted to the CPS FB page today. CPS schools will be closed on Monday due to the expected weather for tomorrow. Schools had been closed on January 6th & 7th due to the extreme cold weather.

If you seek any further updates you can use the number above 773.553.1000 or call CPS hotline at 773.553.3100. You can also follow CPS on FB and on Twitter to seek further updates!