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player ready...Knifelike winds and temperatures scraping zero spurred the National Weather Service Wednesday to issue the Chicago area’s first cold-weather advisory of the winter–but it’s the lack of snow that has farmers and tourism officials moaning about the weather and declaring emergencies of their own.
Wednesday marked the 13th straight day of sub-freezing temperatures in the Chicago area, with winds early Thursday expected to make it feel like 30 degrees below zero. On Monday, Cook County recorded its 17th cold-weather related death since October.
Because there is no snow to insulate the ground, the cold has taken a toll on water mains and may do more damage than usual to perennial flowers, shrubs and trees.
Meteorologists say the jet stream has been dipping farther south than a typical winter–a typical pattern in El Nino years. That has caused storms to bypass the upper Midwest, leaving bare, dry ground.
It’s gotten so grim in Wisconsin, where winter tourism is a $3.4 billion business, that state officials have declared a “No-Snow Emergency” and will begin touting activities such as indoor water parks as an alternative to snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. In Rockford, officials scrapped the annual snow sculpting competition scheduled to begin Wednesday because there was no snow to sculpt.
This year’s below-average snowfall is contributing to a moderate drought gripping a large swath of the Midwest, sweeping across northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. It’s a problem that might not be fully felt until spring and summer, when crops and lawns usually draw on moisture absorbed when the winter snow pack melts.
“It’s kind of a stealth drought,” said Rich Tinker, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
“Snowfall recharges the subsoil for the next planting season,” said John Hawkins, a spokesman for the Illinois Farm Bureau. “Whenever that moisture’s not there, most farmers would tend to be worried. Snow cover in the winter might help you through an early planting season dry spell.”
Since Oct. 20, precipitation in Illinois has been about 64 percent of the long-term average, according to the state’s climatologist, Jim Angel. Northern Illinois has been hit hardest, and winter conditions have been closer to normal Downstate.
Normally, the northeastern part of the state would have about 7.3 inches of precipitation by now, according to Angel. But there have only been 3.1 inches.
In Chicago, snow accumulation–a different measurement–has been about 14.2 inches over the past two months. That’s also below the long-term average of about 20 inches for December and January, according to the National Weather Service.
Tinker wasn’t optimistic about a wet spring. He said long-range forecasts are for a drier than normal April and May.
“That’s not great news,” he said. “But it doesn’t necessarily mean disaster. You can still get an adequate amount of moisture, even if it’s below average precipitation.”
Chicago had a different kind of water problem Wednesday, as crews worked to repair 444 leaks found in water line joints and connections throughout the city, none of which left customers without service, said Department of Water spokesman Tom LaPorte. In DuPage County, officials blamed cold weather for scattered water main breaks, including a rupture in Addison Township under the busy intersection of Army Trail Road and Mill Road. Freezing and thawing ground probably caused the rupture, said John Chrysogelos, a foreman of the Addison Water Department.
In unincorporated Glen Ellyn, hundreds of homes lost water pressure during the night while Illinois American Water Co. crews repaired a break in a main near Illinois Highway 83 and Butterfield Road.
The frigid, snow-free weather may be keeping repair crews busy, and snowmobilers off the trails, but many folks are heading for non-traditional forms of winter entertainment.
The Kalahari Resort & Convention Center, a Wisconsin Dells facility with a huge, recently expanded indoor water park, reported an occupancy rate of 82 percent this month, up from 74 percent last January.
“People are looking for alternative things to do,” said Todd Nelson, owner of the resort. “There’s no snowmobiling, skiing is very limited, so it’s a nice situation for us to be in.”