Copyright Chicago Tribune
The leaves have changed seemingly overnight, and this morning we looked up in wonder at yellows, reds and oranges where we saw green just days ago. The air is crisp and cool, a joy to breathe in. We found ourselves rummaging through our winter bins for a warmer jacket and a scarf for the commute. In the next couple of weeks, we’ll all need to change out our summer clothes for our winter garb. Remember, just last week temperatures were still in the 60s and 70s. And while we’ve all become accustomed to milder winters, meteorologists predict this one could be unforgiving thanks to — of all things — a “warm blob.” That term sounds like science fiction, but it’s real. In this instance, it refers to a large pocket of unusually warm water in the North Pacific, which could trigger shifts in the weather pattern. In short, the blob could send a deep chill our way. Remember the winter of 2013-14? That was Chicago’s third-coldest winter on record, when the average temperature was just 19 degrees and every other day brought snow. Conditions leading up to that winter were similar to what’s being reported now, according to CBS Chicago. Even more recently, the polar vortex in January 2019 dropped temperatures to historic lows, at one point hitting 23 below zero. There’s a certain romance to the first snow, but by February, Chicagoans know the grind all too well: slushy streets, ice-coated cars, the endless gray. Yet there’s also resilience — the shared nods at the bus stop, the salt-streaked boots in office hallways, the quiet endurance of a city that just keeps going. So is that what awaits us in the coming weeks? Perhaps. If it is, kids can await snow- and cold-related stay-home days. We adults will trudge on, knowing that a little bad weather doesn’t stop the presses in the real world. At least we made it to the tail end of October before the cool temperatures set in. We’ll hold out hope that forecasters are wrong — but given how this year’s gone, a deep freeze wouldn’t surprise us. If this is your first winter here, you may be about to get a baptism by ice and snow.
