Heat and Fire Weather Concerns in the West; Excessive Rainfall Possible in the South-Central U.S.

Heat will build over the Intermountain West and the Southwest the next couple of days. Lightning from dry thunderstorms can create new fire starts and combined with gusty winds may cause a fire to rapidly grow in Oregon and northern California. Flash flooding will be possible in New Mexico and west Texas today, as well as parts of the southern and central Plains due to slow moving thunderstorms. Read More >

This is a look at snowfall through mid-winter for several U.S. cities. Chicago is running below normal, but the frequency of snow is actually near normal. Storm track dictates a lot of this, and is why Paducah, KY has seen more snow than locally, but why Chicago has had more than Denver!

The second graphic is a research-based index from the Midwestern Regional Climate Center that objectively quantifies winter's severity using cold, snow, and snow depth. Thus far for Chicago, this index indicates winter's cumulative effects are near average. The two weeks of cold from the end of 2017 into the first week of this year particularly stand out.

For Rockford, IL, total snowfall through January 18 was 10.8". This is 8.4" below the normal of 19.2" usually seen through mid-January.

For more, please visit our local climate page.

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Heat and Fire Weather Concerns in the West; Excessive Rainfall Possible in the South-Central U.S.

A Look at Winter Through its Midpoint