Just when the first big snow storm is about to hit Chicago in 3 years, U of C College has its winter break(no school on Feb. 9th). So I guess all the College students can stay inside their dorms or apartments and don’t need to worry about walking to campus during a blizzard.
Honestly, I don’t remember this winter break thing during the 1980’s. But I do think that is a good idea to let the students have a day off amidst a gloomy, frigid Chicago winter.
Tonight the entire Chicagoland seems to be on lockdown for the impending snow storm. WGN Tom Skilling is predicting 7.5 inches of snow tonight near Hyde Park. I have to ask since when have Chicagoans become so soft? Winters in 1980’s and 1990’s in Chicago were definitely more severe and no one then would consider 8 inches of snow overnight as anything to be alarmed about…
Wha - ? I thought Winter Break was in December. LOL. All living in Chicago must get used to Snowmaggedon but how cool that the kids can stay put. Hopefully they’ll have some time for a snowball fight or two out on the Midway.
Hubby and I once trudged through WAY more than 8"of snow to get to Medici’s on Valentine’s Day (1989? 90? Forget the year). @85bears46, to answer your question: since the Weather Channel has turned everything into a BIG EVENT.
That all sounds good but a far piece to go in order to rival the epic of 1967, which came at about this time on the calendar and still holds the record in Chicago. It warrants its own Wikipedia entry: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Chicago_blizzard. That one was really fun. Oh, and it was 23 inches.
Clarification: February 9th is defined as College Break for undergrad. It is “winter break” for Lab Schools kids. As for professional schools and grad school students, today is a normal school day.
I don’t think any snow in Chicago is ever “lake effect” snow, for the simple reason that it’s rare for winds to blow east across Lake Michigan. Lake effect snow – take it from someone who has experienced plenty of it – happens when cold air passes over an unfrozen lake, picking up water vapor from the lake, and then dumping the moisture as snow when the air currents hit cold land again, usually some sort of hills (also not a big feature of Chicago). Early in the season each winter you get bands of lake effect snow coming off the Great Lakes going northwest to southeast. So there’s lots of lake effect snow in Michigan, and in Ohio, and central and western Pennsylvania and New York. Chicago, not so much.
My son visited his good friend at UChicago for the “College Break” weekend. So, I have fun snow pictures from him. Looks like his ski clothes came in handy and he and borrowed a scarf.
Airline rebooking was needed both directions coming from Pasadena. His 4-day weekend turned into 5 days because Southwest ran out of de-icer at Midway on Sunday. Luckily he’d done whatever problem set was due on Monday in advance just in case.
He said UChicago’s day off was last week in preparation for their midterms this week. His midterms (also quarter system) were last week, though they have only take home exams so the scheduling is more flexible.
