No surprise: It's been a snowy month in Chicago
In a typical December, Chicagoans can expect 9 inches of snow. That's the long-term average based on 79 years (1928-2006) of snowfall data as registered at Midway Airport. This month, however, has been among the city's snowier Decembers.
The month-to-date snow total of 18.5 inches ranks this month as the city's 10th snowiest, and the possibility of some light snow late tonight and on Monday will add a bit more to the month's final tally. This month's snow total, while more than twice the climatological expectation, poses no threat to Chicago’s all-time December snowfall record.
Think back seven years to December 2000. Forty-one inches of snow blanketed the city that month and, coupled with exceptionally low temperatures, the snow did not melt away between storms. It was a commuters' nightmare.
--By Richard Koeneman, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist