The Great Blizzard of 2011 came and went, but it left Chicago pretty dry: the snow removal during and after the blizzard last month cost the city $37.3 million to clean up. The Chicago Tribune reports that this number is more than double what the mayor and the city had set aside for snow removal during the entire year. more ›

Last night, while reading up on the reports of the "Wow, Skilling got it right!" snowstorm just now hitting the area, we did a search for songs titled "Snowblind." Oddly enough, the more popular ones(Sabbath, Styx, Ace Frehley had nothing to do with actual snow. Since there are a lot of music junkies on staff, we did a long riff on songs about snow. Think of it as a playlist to keep you warm. more ›

Did everybody get a chance to bum rush the supermarkets last night and stock up on things before the blizzard warning kicks in at 3 p.m.? Good. Because now the waiting begins. Every meteorologist in town is predicting anywhere from 18-24 inches of snow between Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons (we'll have more on the freakout in a bit). And that's just when the blizzard warning kicks in. more ›

So the snow projected for tomorrow through Thursday is expected to finally give us the whole "Thundersnow/Snowpacalypse" big dump of white powder worthy of dibs that we've really been missing so far. Already, meterologists are comparing this to previous large blizzards. Second City Cop said Mayor Daley, since he's a lame duck, should just "Bilandic" snow removal operations, which would drive residents to do more than "stomp SOS and HELP in the ground." One reader suggested we call the forthcoming snow a "snownami;" Karl coined the term "blizzaster." We're just gonna call it "Tuesday." more ›

So, not much of a blizzard, eh? The heavy snow and whiteout conditions never quite materialized this time around. However, don't get your hopes up. A new blizzard watch may be issued for tonight for a system coming through tomorrow morning and, blizzard or not, it's going to be freaking cold. Temps will fall throughout the day and will fall to near 0 by the evening rush hour and brisk winds will drop the wind chill to as much as 15 below. Temps will bottom out between 3 and 5 below before they start rising and snow will move in after midnight and will pile up - and blow around - throughout the day Wednesday. more ›

You'd think a foot of new snow would be enough for the area. But nooooooooooooo. We have to do everything bigger and better here in Chicago. After a relatively calm day today - cloudy skies, temps in the upper 20s and a chance of snow afternoon - everything's going to go to Hell (or Hoth, as the case may be) late tonight. Temps will drop to the upper aughts as blowing snow moves in, bringing blizzard conditions and an additional 2 to 4 inches of new snow with it. Things will calm down tomorrow, but then it's just gonna get even wilder here with more snow and bitter cold towards the end of the week as Thursday may be the first time in 12 years we don't break 0 for a high. Skilling mentions that tonight's snow could push us past the 38 inch tally that's the normal amount for an entire winter. And it's only mid-January. more ›