After last year’s brutal winter, Chicagoans should expect higher-than-average snowfall and cold temperatures this year, according to a new forecast released Wednesday by AccuWeather.com.
“People in Chicago are going to want to move after this winter,” meteorologist Josh Nagelberg said in a statement published on the site.
While meteorologists cannot forecast exact weather patterns, AccuWeather meteorologist Erik Pindrock said Chicago will endure the worst winter in the nation.
“There was 57.9 inches of snow last year, which was 20 inches above normal,” Pindrock said. “It’s quite possible that you will get close to that again this year, but it’s impossible to put a number on it.”
AccuWeather forecasts 50 to 58 inches of snow for Chicago, with temperatures two to three degrees below normal.
Last winter, temperatures fell 2.4 degrees below normal. If this prediction holds true, this winter will be the fifth in a row with higher-than-average snowfall and lower-than-average temperatures.
Other weather services have been more cautious in their predictions. Charles Mott, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said more accurate forecasts are not available until late October or November.
“Like every forecast, it’s a progressive deal. Sometimes things change rapidly,” he said. “By and large, it could be average.”
In addition to colder temperatures and more snow for the December-to-February period, AccuWeather predicts cold surges starting in November.
“It potentially could be colder than average later in the month toward Thanksgiving,” Pindrock said.
Some Northwestern students from warmer states anticipate a tough transition to the Chicago winter. Medill freshman
Haydyn Anigian said in her hometown of Dallas, cold weather means Ugg boots and a Patagonia sweatshirt, not down jackets and snow boots.
“It’s depressing,” Anigian said. “Where I’m from, when there’s an inch of snow the entire town shuts down and nobody knows what to do.”
Medill freshman Cameron Albert-Deitch said his wardrobe is ready for the winter, but he may not be mentally prepared just yet.
“The one thing that I’ve been terrified of since I knew I was going to Northwestern is the Chicago winters,” he said. “I’ve been laughed at already for saying that weather in the upper 20s, lower 30s is cold.”
