WGN Weather Center BlogWGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.Weekend deluge raises level of Lake Michigan- September 17, 2008 The run-off from this past weekend's record-breaking rains is impacting Lake Michigan. Water levels have risen an inch this month alone, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers meteorologist Keith Kompoltowicz tells us. It's an increase that has occurred at a time of the year when lake levels typically fall an inch or two. Kompoltowicz estimates as much as 877.5-billion additional gallons of water now reside in Lake Michigan. With September rainfall across the lake's drainage basin 227 percent of.http://blogs.trb.com/news/weather/weblog/wgnweather/2008/09/weekend_deluge_raises_level_of... Shifting winds drop temps Thursday but warmth dominates rest of month- September 17, 2008http://blogs.trb.com/news/weather/weblog/wgnweather/2008/09/shifting_winds_drop_temps_thur... Origin cold and warm front symbols- September 17, 2008 Dear Tom, The symbols for cold fronts and warm fronts on weather maps are used everywhere. Who dreamed up those symbols Barry Phillips Dear Barry, In the 1920s, an energetic group of researchers in Bergen, Norway, was making significant progress in theoretical and applied meteorology. At the time, the group was advancing the concept of "fronts," the boundaries between different air masses. On their maps, the researchers used blue lines to indicate cold fronts and red lines for warm.http://blogs.trb.com/news/weather/weblog/wgnweather/2008/09/origin_cold_and_warm_front_sym... Hobart flooding- September 17, 2008 Amanda Pickett sends us this photo in south Hobart. She tell us: "I went to Deep River county park in south Hobart today to see where the river level was. I am attaching a photo of a bridge that previously had water running under it with a brick path leading up to it. As you can see, it's a bridge to nowhere right now. The water has receded quite a bit there and it's still flooded!" Amanda Pickett, Winfield, INhttp://blogs.trb.com/news/weather/weblog/wgnweather/2008/09/hobart_flooding.html Before the Forecast- September 17, 2008 Thanks for joining us for this Tuesday edition of Before the Forecast! A huge thank you to our amazing weather interns, Ellen and Aaron, for helping us out with tonight's BTF! For complete weather information, tune in to WGN News at 9pm and wgntv.com for Tom Skilling's Full and 7-day forecasts. Tune in tomorrow for another edition of Before the Forecast, and as always continue to watch WGN for more coverage: Morning, Noon & Nine.http://blogs.trb.com/news/weather/weblog/wgnweather/2008/09/before_the_forecast_41.html 2 tropical storms teamed up for a rare deluge- September 16, 2008 It took a rare one-two punch by the remnants of two separate tropical systems to produce the weekend's one-of-a-kind Midwest deluge. Rain fell in Chicago 48 of the 72 hours between Friday and Sunday and totaled 8.54 inches. There have been heavier rains outside the city -- among them a 17-inch drenching that hit the west and southern suburbs in July 1996 centered on Aurora and Naperville. It established a new 24 hour statewide record. But, only once before -- in August 1987 -- has more...http://blogs.trb.com/news/weather/weblog/wgnweather/2008/09/2_tropical_storms_teamed_up_fo... Seasonal cooling across the Arctic setting the stage for Chicago warm-up- September 16, 2008http://blogs.trb.com/news/weather/weblog/wgnweather/2008/09/seasonal_cooling_across_the_ar... Frequency of Chicago rainfall from hurricane remnants- September 16, 2008 Dear Tom, Have we ever been hit by hurricane remnants twice in one season let alone one month like we've have with Gustav and Ike Judy Serwatka Valparaiso and Mary King Dear Judy and Mary, Since 1900 there have been 17 low pressure centers that were once hurricanes that have passed within about 100 miles of Chicago. Some, like Carla's remnants in 1961, have brought Chicago torrential rain and strong winds, while others have passed bearing only light showers Before this month,..http://blogs.trb.com/news/weather/weblog/wgnweather/2008/09/frequency_of_chicago_rainfall.... Beaver Pond flooding in Bartlett, Ill.- September 16, 2008 Doug Pellegrino sent this photo taken in Bartlett, Ill and the devastation around Beaver Pond. Doug tells us: "..the water has run up the driveway of houses that sit across the street from the pond, so you can imagine how badly the water affected those houses lying on the same side of the street as the pond. In fact, water is already up to the ceiling in the basements of these homes and into the 1st floor in some of them." Photo courtesy of Doug Pellegrinohttp://blogs.trb.com/news/weather/weblog/wgnweather/2008/09/beaver_pond_flooding_in_bartle... Minooka area flooding- September 16, 2008 Leslie Spreitzer sends us this photo of flooding in Minooka, Il. Photo courtesy of Leslie Spreitzerhttp://blogs.trb.com/news/weather/weblog/wgnweather/2008/09/minooka_area_flooding.html |