Spring is in the air, but for these huskies, it's time for fun in the snow! more ›

Should we really get this much snow (which we won't) we will totally be imitating this cat on the way home tonight. more ›

So last week we let our dog/office manager Emmylou outside to do her business. Her now-fourteen-year-old bones bounded town the front steps and promptly sank in the middle of a three-foot high snow drift. Shoveling Emmy out of the drift became the first order of business. Having an old dog has its advantages and its drawbacks. One of the latter is that they don't play in the snow like they did when they were younger. Which is why we now search Youtube for videos of puppies playing in their first deep snowfall. more ›

Did you know there was a crippling blizzard in Chicago a few days ago? Although it appears that most roads are pretty clear and the CTA is running close to normal, a lot of the Chicago side streets have been waiting patiently to be cleared by the city. more ›

Given what we've heard about the nightmare that unfolded on Lake Shore Drive during this blizzard, my commute doesn't seem quite so bad now. It didn't involve rescue by any of the brave emergency workers or National Guard troops. I did get home at an hour that is within the realm of normal dinner time. I was greeted with hugs from the wife, who had hot tea and soup waiting. But it was no joy, either. After hearing how long people spent on the Drive waiting for rescue, I am so very grateful I wasn't among them. more ›

So it's been snowing steadily all day. And while it's pretty (and welcome, in some places), it could wreak just the slightest bit of havoc with the evening commute. Glad we work from home right now. more ›

Welcome back, everyone! Hope you got everything you wanted for Christmas. We got a lot of Wisconsin meats and cheeses, which should do wonders for our LDL levels when we next have a physical. But it raises the core temperature, which is what we're going to need today. more ›

What is understood doesn't need to be discussed. And, if you happened to go outside yesterday, you know that it was pretty bad from about noon through now. But we will share with you what havoc the weather did wreak yesterday, besides raising the heart rates of people who shoveled their sidewalks and driveways (twice right here) or the kids who, like folks at nearby Henry C. Palmisano Nature Park in Bridgeport, took advantage of the weather to toboggan and sled. more ›

The long, slow roll to Spring has, as usual, given us ants in our pants. Yes, we know, complaining about the cold in Chicago is like complaining about the heat in Miami. But we can't help. Scooter's is open, baseball is being played, and we're ready to dust off the flip flops and enjoy some sun sun sun. And there's nothing like a satellite image to remind us that, as of this week, we actually have it pretty good. The above image was taken yesterday, March 4, 2010, and shows how the melt line is creeping its way north to us and that we could always have it worse. We could be in Iowa. more ›

Just as the remnants of the last major snowfall were finally beginning to melt away comes news that another round of snow is moving in to wallop the area. While the exact path of the storm keeps changing and thus the National Weather Service isn't sure who's going to be affected and by how much, it does seem most places in the area can prep for between 4 to 12 inches of snow. Yeah, that's a huge range, but those are the numbers being tossed around, so we'll stick with our handy prediction of more than 0 but less than a two feet. more ›

For once, the storm lived up to the hype. Yesterday's snowfall topped a foot at O'Hare, the most at that location in over 10 years and the most ever for a February snowfall at O'Hare (since the city started keeping track of this sort of thing). Midway saw a little less - over 9 inches - but that was still a healthy storm. And one contributors to our Flickr pool took full advantage of. more ›

Sure, schools are closed, flights are canceled, and traffic is snarled, but damn the snow can look good sometimes, especially when caught from the point of view of Chicago's wonderful photographers. Here are some examples from this most recent snowfall. If you capture some moments, please feel free to share them in our Flickr pool. more ›

Even as Chicago deals with the newest round of snow, we're captivated by this short time-lapse video of snow falling last week in the D.C. area. As the friend who shared this with us said, "It's like watching a marshmallow expand." more ›

The Atlantic coast suffered the brunt of this past weekend's snowstorm but it looks like the Midwest is about to get its fair share of the white stuff. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for what it's calling a "long duration winter storm." The snow will start late to overnight tonight but will be heaviest tomorrow afternoon and evening. By the time it all tapers off Wednesday, most of the area chould have 6 to 12 inches of snow on the ground. High winds tomorrow will cause hazardous driving conditions tomorrow so if you have to be out on the road, be careful. more ›

The latest winter storm has come and gone, dumping a pretty healthy amount of snow on us. Enjoy these beautiful photos shared by readers in our Flickr Pool. more ›

Even as the season's biggest snowfall to date continues to pile up in the city, Mayor Daley stressed the importance of shoveling one's sidewalk but said the city won't enforce the ordinance that requires the sidewalks be cleared by property owners. When asked about enforcing the ordinance today at a press conference today, Daley said, "No, I don't think so, but we want people to understand they have that responsibility." The Trib explains: more ›

As the snow still falls and we prepare for the lake-effect portion of the storm - which may drop another 4-5 inches on us by this time tomorrow - already we're seeing the effects of the storm. Besides the traffic snarls here in the city, the Illinois State Police have already enacted their Emergency Snow Plan. The plan asks that motorists involved in minor incidents that don't involve injury don't call 911 tor police assistance unless absolutely necessary; motorists should still exchange insurance information. Meanwhile, plows are out in force across city and state roads, trying to clear the way. Air traffic has also been thrown into chaos with 500 flights already canceled between both O'Hare and Midway. If you're unlucky enough to be scheduled to fly today, be sure to check in with your airline. more ›

Not only will we have some bitter cold this weekend but it looks like there may be a new blanket of snow across the area. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for the area starting tomorrow night and running through Friday morning. While the NWS is still hashing out details, their initial forecast puts us in a swath of snow that could reach seven to nine inches deep. Skilling puts the forecast in pictures for us. more ›

It's not just Chicago that's in the grips of a cold winter; the rest of the United States has had a rough winter as well, including the Mid-Atlantic which has seen its fair share of snow so far. And while our intern has been moping about like the rest of us, it seems the First Pooch down in D.C. is having a far better time with all the ice and snow. more ›

While the Bears had a bit of trouble even getting to Baltimore thanks to this weekend's huge East Coast snowstorm, the team arrived as planned around 11 p.m. Baltimore last night and this afternoon's game is on, if a little delayed. The game, originally slated for a high noon kickoff (Chicago time) is now slated to start at 3:15 (the Eagles-49ers game suffered the same fate. Workers at Baltimore's M&T Bank Field were still working this morning to get snow off the field and out of the stands to improve game conditions. The 700 workers at the stadium even got a helping hand -- from 125 inmates being used to help clear snow from the field. [One has to assume that's not an inmate handling heavy machinery in the photo above.] The storm dumped 21 inches on Baltimore, the seventh-highest snow total since records starting being kept in 1883. more ›

There's a big storm headed towards the East Coast that's going to cause a lot of travel delays for folks headed that way. The D.C./Baltimore area is getting special attention as they could receive anywhere between 10 to 20 inches. As a result, a lot of stuff is getting shuffled around, including Sunday's Bears-Ravens game. Originally scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. kickoff, the game has been pushed back to a 3:15 p.m. kickoff at the request of the City of Baltimore to allow more time for things to be clear and to give fans more time to arrive for the game. more ›

A day after the season's first snow, we're starting in on the season's first snow storm. Already a fresh blanket of white is on the ground and more snow is falling. The system moving in has brought a Winter Weather Advisory for Cook and surrounding counties while other counties further to the west are under Winter Storm Warnings. Light snow will continue throughout the day and could become mixed with rain and sleet later in the afternoon. Then, overnight, more heavy snow falls and the winds will kick up as the storm moves through, giving some areas near blizzard conditions with blowing snow and falling visibility. And then, once the snow is gone, the temps will drop. Big time. But that's tomorrow. As for today, we'll see highs up around the low-to-mid 30s; they won't budge that much into the overnight hours but higher winds will make for some brisk wind chills. And how much snow can we ultimately expect? Anywhere from 3 to 7 inches in the city (lower totals to the south, higher to the north), with more in the suburbs and totals bordering on double-digits in the far west and north suburbs. more ›

The first accumulating snow of the season has fallen and is actually still falling, at least at our office, where a little over an inch has piled up. So be extra careful no matter how you get to work as roads and sidewalks alike will be slippery. Allow plenty of time. If there's good news about the snow, it's that it'll taper off pretty early in the morning, sometime in the 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. range. After that, it'll just be cloudy and cold with highs into the mid 30s. Cloudy skies remain in place overnight with lows in the mid 20s. Tomorrow and Wednesday are already looking pretty interesting with areas to the northwest of the city being projected to receive 6 to 12 inches of snow from the next storm but projections here in the city are a bit lower. So what'll happen? Who knows? But keep up to date on all the latest weather developments. more ›

It's a lovely early winter's day outside right now. Highs may top out near 40 under sunny skies, but on the other side of sunset is the first potential accumulations of the season for the Chicago area. Snow showers will move in overnight and the area could see as much as two inches, particularly to areas north of the city. But what's really got the weather folks' attention is a mid-week system that could bring several inches and, according to Skilling, blizzard-like conditions. Of course, that's still three days out, so who knows how much the volatile forecast will change? But it seems a taste of arctic air is also on the way for Thursday when highs might not crack 20, so you'd better bundle up for the trek to Sheffield's and our meet-up/canned food drive. You are coming to that, aren't you? more ›

• NIU's police chief, Donald Grady, has been placed on a leave of absence after allegations of improper ethical behavior were made by NIU's student newspaper.
• Joseph Caputo, a former pricing analyst for MPC Products who turned FBI informant, has been awarded $4.5 million for helping the FBI crack a price-inflating case against the company.
• In the wake of all the fuss over the CTA's new proposed hikes and service cuts, The Reader's Whet Moser took a thoughtful look at transit issues in a few other large cities.

A few weeks back, we discussed the Chicago tradition known as "dibs." It now seems that Ald. Dick Mell (33rd) has had it up to here with you kids and your dibs, issuing this email to constituents. more ›

It seems the frigid temps aren't the only thing historic about the weather these days. Yesterday's snowfall extended Chicago's streak of days with measurable snowfall to nine, tying the previous record. While some days saw very little snow (just one-tenth of an inch three days), the city saw 18 inches received those nine days - that's what she said - and it's still all piled up thanks to the cold. The streak looks to end today as we have pointlessly sunny skies. 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 ›

Photo by Katie Scully
• In case you missed any speeches today, WBEZ has you covered. Listen to Blago's press conference, The Mighty Quinn's response, and Illinois Sec. of State Jesse White's statement.
• Bob Benson, director of internal audit for the City of Chicago, and who came on after the Hired Trucks scandal, has been fired.
• Two Park Ridge teenagers have been arrested over a series of drive-by BB gun shootings that have left two people hospitalized; the teens have cited "boredom" as a motive.

Well, we thought it was going to be a calm weather weekend. As it turns out, it's looking more and more like we're going to kick the weekend off with a bang. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for the area beginning at 3 a.m. tomorrow morning and continuing until 6 a.m. Saturday morning. In between, it looks like the area could receive between 4 and 8 inches of snow. The advisory states that snow will move into the area in the pre-dawn hours, so be prepared for the morning rush hour. And as for the evening rush hour? Ugh, we don't even want to think about it. more ›