Chicago has four seasons: Winter, spring, summer and dread.
That last one is otherwise known as autumn. It’s a beautiful time of year, but many Chicagoans greet it with a shudder because it means winter is about to slam us. We know there are only a few weeks of mild September and October temps before the Windy City lives up to its reputation for bitter cold and biting winds.
So we make it a point to squeeze in a few more bike rides and barbecues. Take extra walks along the beach. Pay a visit to Lincoln Park Zoo–anything to take advantage of the last few days of warmth.
By November, we’re ready. We’ve packed away the sandals and brought out the wool socks, the temperatures start to plunge, and we even get a few snow flurries.
What a reprieve this year! November has been been amazingly mild, producing high temperatures in the 50s and even the 60s. Drizzle and fog are about the worst we’ve faced–and even then, didn’t Chicago on Friday seem a bit like London?
OK, maybe all this has thrown you for a bit of a loop. Unseasonably warm weather has made choosing what to wear difficult. Light jacket or no jacket? Will a sweater prove too warm for the stuffy office? How many layers to don for a midday workout? Jogging shorts seem rather silly this time of year, but tights are much too hot.
It seems too soon to be cooking cold-weather comfort foods like cookies, pot roast or beef stew. You can still pull out the Weber grill and throw a few burgers or brats on the fire.
Need we mention yardwork? We’d like nothing more than to kick back in a favorite recliner, reach for a best-selling mystery or watch the Chicago Bears try to win another game. But the pressure is on to finish outdoor chores while you can still feel your fingers.
Does it sound like we’re complaining? Hope not. There’s a lot to be said for the joy of raising storm windows that were just lowered a couple of weeks ago. We’re getting a break on the heating bills. No two-hour commutes through slush.
It’s easy to get delusional, to start to think that maybe we’ll have a San Francisco winter, gray, misty and mild. Forget about it. If the forecasts are right, winter’s going to arrive around Thanksgiving.
So enjoy the deferment–for however long it lasts.
