
By John F. Di Leo -
On Monday, December 28, 2015, Chicagoland was hit by a particularly unpleasant ice storm.
No, not a blizzard – we get them every year – this was an ice storm, the kind where you’re peppered by tiny bits of ice as you walk or run to your car, the kind that leaves inches of slush and ice on the ground instead of nice soft snow. The kind that’s even more painful, even more dangerous, than most snowstorms. The kind that weighs down power lines, causing them to collapse and leave whole towns without power.
It wasn’t the worst of the storms that hit the country this week, however. Other areas got snow, lots of it. Other areas got rain, as much as a foot in one day. Other areas were hit by dozens of fatal tornadoes. No, we Chicagoans don’t have anything to complain about. We know how to drive in snow; we know how to dress for it. Many others had it far worse than we did, this week at least.
But for many, the oddity of this weather system – particularly after a mild December and a generally mild year overall for some regions, raised the issue – yes, a political issue – that “weather is changing these days,” that weather is somehow different now than it used to be.