Prairie Works

On September 15th 2007, Dubuque, IA recorded its earliest frost ever. Was this a sign of things to come? Today, winter is slowly coming to an end and we have historic winter weather statistics to report. Many cities and counties set record snowfall amounts here in the upper Midwest. We are also reporting colder than average temperatures and had lots of miscellaneous precipitation. This put a stress on road crews that was unbearable at times. Many school districts in the area have lengthened the school day in order to make up for the many “snow days” and munincipalities are scrambling to adjust budgets that were over-consumed by snow removal and salt costs.

It all started on November 21st when we received 2.2 inches of the white stuff. We did not realize how well acquainted we would become… December gave us a plethora of rain, snow, ice and fog. We ended the month with 20.6 inches of snow and a record setting amount of rain (4.61 inches). We also had two vicious ice storms and 11 days of visibility of a quarter mile or less. We thought that winter came on strong but would fade out early. January was relatively easy when compared to its bookends. We received only 13.2 inches of snow but experienced a cold snap the last week of the month where nearby Waterloo, IA, fell to -29 below (January 23rd).

February 2008 was a month with many staggering weather statistics. Dubuque, IA, racked up a record amount of 32.5 inches of snow which fell on 80 percent of the days possible. This included an Ash Wednesday snowstorm that dropped 18″ of snow in JoDaviess County. A week long stretch of sub-zero temps followed. It became the 2nd wettest February in Chicago history. Madison, WI, broke its all time snow record very early in the month when winter was a mere 6 weeks old! The national guard was called out to Interstate 90 south of Madison on the 5th to help stranded motorists - the first time that’s happened in the Midwest since the famous Chicago blizzard of 1967. Famed Chicago weatherman, Tom Skilling, was creating stats about the month never heard before. Skilling said of February, “Sunshine in February was 40 percent of possible versus normal of 46 percent”? Whatever exactly happened, it was extremely cloudy, cold and snowy.

We entered March with our local snowfall records in sight. Snow amounts were recorded sporadically and in small amounts. Lent ended in Chicago like it began, with a snowstorm. A Good Friday storm brought 7 inches of snow, setting the all time record for McHenry County, Illinois (77 inches). With that storm Chicago surpassed its 60 inch total and Madison, WI surpassed the 100 inch milestone. It was the first “White Easter” in 30 years for many areas. The Galena area had to wait until March 27th to break our all time record. This was set at the Dubuque Airport Thursday, March 27th at 7:30 P.M. with a wet and short-lived 4.4 incher.

Madison, WI - The most amazing statistic was brought to us by Madison, WI.

Weather records seem to be like records set in athletic realms, they are barely broken, just extending past. Records are made by small measurements, split seconds or a degree or two. A maximum threshold seems to always exist. This was not the case with Madison’s snowfall record. It shattered its previous record of 76.1 inches by over two feet (24.6 inches). Snow has been sitting on the ground there every day since December 2nd (another record broken). Many Chicagoans remember the infamous winters of the late 1970s. The record setting season for Chicago snowfall in 1978-1979 was 89.7 inches.

With all the numbers attempting to explain the story, these statistics cannot convey the ice, sleet combined with snow (sneet), extremely dense fog, thunder snow, blowing winds and the relentless 3 inch snow events that we absorbed this winter. I was provided with many memorable driving experiences like my drive on December 23rd from Platteville to Galena that left fingerprints that are forever embedded into the steering wheel of our Volkswagen Passat. Also, my annual Easter weekend canoe trip was done with the sounds of snowplows in the distance. Not to be forgotten.

With that being said I thought I may add: The largest snowfall in JoDaviess County history occurred in April and the latest snow to ever fall in Chicago was on June 10, 1910…

Snowiest Winters for Dubuque, IA

1. 76.2″…2007-08 (34.4 inches greater than normal)
2. 75.7″…1961-62
3. 75.0″…1974-75
4. 71.5″…1959-60
5. 71.3…1977-78
6. 70.4″…1978-79
7. 65.9″…1958-59
8. 63.8″…1992-93
9. 59.8″…1985-86
10. 59.3″…1950-51

Official Snow Totals From Around The Region (as of April 1st)

Cedar Rapids, IA     59.9″    Normal   27.7″ (2nd Snowiest Ever)
Chicago (O’Hare)     60.3″    Normal   36.4″ (7th Snowiest Ever)
Chicago (Midway)   60.7″    Normal   42.9″ (7th Snowiest Ever)
Dubuque, IA            76.2″    Normal   42.0″ (Record Set)
Madison, WI            100.7″  Normal   46.3″ (Record Set)
Milwaukee, WI        98.9″   Normal   49.7″ (2nd Snowiest Ever)
Moline, IL                51.5″    Normal   33.7″ (2nd Snowiest Ever)
Rockford, IL            72.9″    Normal   37.3″ (2nd Snowiest Ever)

http://blogs.trb.com/news/weather/weblog/wgnweather/ Tom Skilling’s Blog

http://www.weather.gov/ Official Weather Recordings