Dear Tom,
Are we expecting a snowy or a dry winter this time around? Last winter was not fun.
— Geno Santiago
Dear Geno,
The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center recently released its outlook for December through February.
For the Chicago area, the outlook, averaged through those three months, forecasts a 50 percent chance of above-normal temperatures, a 33 percent chance of near-normal temperatures and a 17 percent chance of below-normal temperatures.
The outlook also indicates equal chances of above-normal and below-normal precipitation. That means no clear climatic signal exists pointing to one scenario more than another. Keep in mind that “precipitation” does not equal “snow.” It refers to the liquid equivalent of rain and snow combined.
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Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or: asktomwhy@wgntv.com
Weather Report is prepared by the WGN-TV Weather Center, where Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN News at 11:30 a.m., 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
IN THE WEB EDITION: For updated weather news, forecasts by ZIP code and local radar images, go to chicagotribune.com/weather or wgntv.com
