Naz / January 19, 2004 11:12 AM

I hope not.

paul / January 19, 2004 11:43 AM

Not much snow yet, but it's been damn cold, worse than that past couple years for sure.

Andrew / January 19, 2004 11:49 AM

We haven't gotten hit *really* hard since Jan. 1, 1999. The way the meteorologists have been breathing heavy about potential precipitation this winter, I keep expecting something along those lines -- blizzard conditions, people stranded miles from home, etc. etc.

Does it seem like the weather is the newest portion of the nightly news to get the sensationalism treatment? Now instead of rain and snow we get Winter Storm Advisories. Yeesh.

Pete / January 19, 2004 12:10 PM

Ditto here, Naz. Now that the holidays are past, I'm totally ready for it to be May.

As for the local news, I always enjoy the now-standard view of the anxious street reporter standing in front of an idling snowplow. And just when did two inches of snow become considered a "storm"? Just further evidence that the local stations might as well show sitcom reruns instead.

armaghetto / January 19, 2004 12:11 PM

Uh, last winter was the first time I've ever seen snow falling out of the sky. I thought it was beautiful and fun at first. Then I had to scrape it off of my car and drive in it. And you're telling me that last year was *light*? The record low in my hometown is 22 degrees. My mom says she remembers it snowing once when she was a kid.

I'm retroactively upgrading my Hawaii experience from "suck" to "really not that bad."

sandor / January 19, 2004 1:19 PM

My ideal winter situation: a constant light snowfall for the 4 or so months of winter, something that would keep a persistent, say, 2 inches of snow on the ground. And then in March sometime, it stops, and it's spring.

Barring that possibility, I'd love to see a huge snowstorm hit Chicago before the winter's over. I'm talking school-closing, cross-country-skiing-in-the-streets intensity. Maybe I should move to Minneapolis.

jennifer / January 19, 2004 2:45 PM

If I don't get to sled this winter, I am going to throw the biggest pout-fit since Christina got no love from the press for her kiss with Madonna. Bring it on, winter. Bring. It. On.

Brenda / January 19, 2004 3:58 PM

About 14 years ago there was a HUGE blizzard on Valentine's Day. I think we're due for another one of those.

Because, you know, then I'll have an excuse for staying home alone that night {cough cough}.

shechemist / January 19, 2004 6:37 PM

I hope we get a big snow. I would love to have a snow day, or two to stay home with my beast dog making soup.

I can do without the -5 kelvin windchill that is happening this week tho.

Benjamin / January 19, 2004 6:40 PM

I'm originally from northern Michigan where they get dumped on repeatedly due to that meteorological phenomenon known as "lake effect" snow. I agree with Sandor; it'd be nice to get some consistent fluffy white coverage throughout the winter. Instead, we're dealing with bone-chilling temperatures and none of that pretty white stuff to cover up the gray ice, brown earth, and salt-stained sidewalks.

A lex, x, x / January 20, 2004 9:25 AM

While I generally love snow, I do not feel like waddling my pregnant ass all over Chicago knee deep in snow -- so bring on the Spring!

stephen / January 20, 2004 9:40 AM

Come what may, I have tons of chili! Somehow that line got dropped out of 'Moulin Rouge'..Seriously tho, we're at the point where we're waiting for winter to either throw that wicked left hook or get the hell out of the ring..

tony / January 20, 2004 9:50 AM

I'm convinced that it's going to just be cold. Really bloody cold. No snow. Cold without snow is like hot without sun (or smoking ultra-lights)--what's the point?

christian / January 20, 2004 10:32 AM

i am hoping for a blizzard like the ones in seventy-eight and seventy-nine. those were fun snow storms. ten foot snow banks, a snow fort as big as a house in the back yard, dad on tv because the stuck camara crew saw his lone car driving through the storm. yep, those are the kind of "Winter Storm Advisories" i'm waiting for. not this salt-the-earth-for-two-inches-of-snow crap.

lacey / January 20, 2004 1:31 PM

Wait, I remember being at Ravinia in mid-June last year wearing my winter coat and hat (and that's not just because of the thin southern blood thing...it was freezing). JUNE!!!! But, that being said, bring on the snow. If it's going to be this cold, let's have some snow, right?

stephen / January 20, 2004 2:25 PM

Just threw together a great little chili recipe, which, imho, is the best winter counterdevice. Its even meatless, who knew?

Veggie&Bean Chili

double it, and you've got yourself a LOT. cheers!

Onid / January 20, 2004 3:54 PM

The blizzards in '78 and '79 were awesome. I remember walking up the driveway and the snow drifts (one word?) were over my head and I wasn't a short kid!! And the sledding!! I lived at a dead end and the plows had pushed all of the snow to the end of the street so we climbed up and dug out the dead end sign. That was our "starting line" and we would sled straight down the street until I did it once, caught some ice and couldn't stop and suddenly a car was coming. I rolled off but the sled kept going and the car ran over the sled. After that no one was allowed to sled in the street. "That Onid kid is crazy" was heard up and down the block. *Sigh* Nothing beats nearly killing yourself for a childhood memory.

(I know it sounds like an action movie. Like I rolled off the sled right before the car hit it but that wasn't the case at all. The car was at least half a block down but, as is the case with stories like this, in the telling and re-telling the car was closer and closer. At one point I expected someone to say that I stayed on the sled, it went under the car and I came out the other side without a scratch.)

lacey / January 20, 2004 5:10 PM

Oh man, something like that happened to me growing up..only it wasn't a blizzard, no sleds were harmed, and we were still allowed to play in the street. Haha.

I want a blizzard!

Kenan / January 24, 2004 4:43 AM

I want the bottom to fall out of the sky. I'm from Texas, and all this "snow" business is new to me. The first good snow we had -- right before Christmas -- was almost alarming. The flakes were huge and steady, and the scene outside was surreal to me. What are these clumps of white stuff? Is the end nigh at last? Obviously, I knew it was snow, but some primal part of me was frightened. I was like someone who had never seen the ocean, and was amazed at its expanse.

I want more of that. I want more scary snow. I want to see so much snow, I can't believe it. Every time it snows, the bar for my amazement gets higher, so I'll require at least, oh, a foot in one afternoon.