Dear Tom,
Last week you explained that snowfall following the city’s 10 driest summers averaged about 9 inches below normal. Does above-normal snowfall tend to follow a wet summer?
Tim Guimond, Evanston
Dear Tim,
When we did our in-house study of snowfall following dry summers (using Midway Airport data since 1928), for comparison, we also sampled snow that fell following the city’s 10 wettest summers. In those winters, the amount of snow exceeded the city’s seasonal average of about 40 inches in seven of the 10 years. Average snowfall for those 10 winters was about 45 inches. The seasonal snow totals ranged from a high of 82.3 inches in the winter of 1977-78 to a low of 20 inches in the winter of 1957-58.While far from a definitive study, the results give credence to the notion that pronounced wet or dry patterns seem to carry over into the following seasons.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
