Recently in Weather Category

It was good while it lasted. "It" were those summer-like temperatures we were forced to endure during a work week. That is unless you were off because your kids were out on Easter recess --- oops, spring break.

Yes, those warm few days brought back the 80s of last fall and what we can expect later than sooner. It's a cruel trick Mother Nature plays on having us get a slight taste of warm weather and then reverting to the real temps of April. March went out like a lamb, April came in like a lamb, but today we go back to cooler temperatures and Seattle-like skies.

One thing The Hound knows is that spring in Illinois can revert to winter very quickly. You'll see. And remember, you heard it here first.

The Hound's snout took a whiff outside Saturday morning and, Lordy! --- it was a heat wave in the back 40. A whole 13 degrees above zero! Oh happy day!

The barn thermometer was above zero for the first time in about two days and it felt good, real good. Now, some doubters will say they can't tell the difference between 10 below zero and 13 above zero. The Hound can and 13 above is always preferable.

One problem with these balmy temperatures: Snow in the forecast.

Ah, but snow is a warm consolation after putting up with near -20 temps and double the windchills the past week. To welcome this heat wave, The Hound is serving pina coladas in front of the fire. Oh, happy day!

There must be some bad juju surrounding us to get the weather hand we were dealt the past few days. Talk about a weird and wacky weather zone.

First, we get a week of heavy snow, ice and below zero temperatures. Then comes a high Saturday of nearly 60 degrees in Lake County accompanied by a ton of rain mixed with fog coming off the snow left on the ground. If that was snow on Saturday, The Hound would still be digging out The Doghouse. Yowza! did it pour. And, with the ground frozen, there was little places the rain could go.

Area streams and rivers rose rapidly, although you certainly can't tell what the flood levels on the Des Plaines River at Russell and Gurnee were. The gauges which measure rising levels have been on the fritz, of late.

Then it was back into the high 40s and into a fairly quiet week, if you consider near-single digit temperatures quiet for the new year. The Hound does.

Geez, give them two inches or more of the white stuff and Lake County motorists seem to become wheel jockeys bent on proving they're the dumbest drivers in the world. Or at least the dumbest driving in snow.

Lighten up folks. Driving around the county the past few days during these serial snowstorms, The Hound noticed a number of vehicles in the ditches and witnessed one Cadillac go sliding into a snowbank. What's with you drivers? Whiteouts be damned! must be your rallying cry.

The Hound was passed several times by cars, not 4x4s mind you, which looked like they were going faster than a dry pavement speed limit. The Hound could tell that because they were fishtailing, slipping and sliding, with the pedal to the metal. Yikes!

These bumper-car drivers apparently have a death wish. Just don't take The Hound and other unsuspecting drivers with you. And merry Christmas, snow jockeys.

Well, actually The Hound does call this bit of frigid air the first day of winter cold, very cold. Arctic, bitter, bone-chilling, you supply the adjective. At Waukegan Regional Airport the low was -7; the high -3. The high last year Dec. 21 at the airport was 50; the low 36. That's not cold.

At 3 p.m., two of us compared our in-car thermometers at a local watering hole just before the Vikings/Falcons game got interesting. One said -3; the other -4. They were parked next to each other. Go figure.

The Hound doesn't mind the cold weather, but not this early. Not in December. January, OK. You can't even spread salt when it's below zero; doesn't work. And, man, that wind howling through The Hound's dog house caused a mean headache. Or perhaps it was the Black Haus schnapps, something every should imbibe during a cold spell. Brrr!

Remember, though this is only December. The really cold stuff is still in store.

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The Hound is in a quandary as winter approaches and the snow and ice begins to fly: How will we salt the kibble with all the warnings about salt shortages? What should The Hound put on the popcorn while watching Animal Planet? More pepper?

While The Hound worries about food seasonings, Lake County motorists should worry about the condition of their roads this winter as community upon community says they're paying more for salt and will have less to spare. Lindenhurst this week adopted a new policy to conserve salt, which the village bought for $138 a ton, compared to $40 a ton last year. Libertyville is the latest to issue a de-icing warning.

Essentially, Libertyville will probably be doing what other towns will do when the snow falls. Arterial, collector and business park roads will be fully salted during an initial callout, according to the village's public works department. Low-volume residential streets will be salted at curves, hills and intersections during initial callouts. After snow events have ended, most streets will be salted again to combat ice buildup.

If you live on a cul-de-sac in Libertyville, they won't be salted during the initial callout unless on a sharp curve or hill. And, the village says they may be forced to use a sand/salt mixture if snow events pile up. That mixture's a throwback to the days of yore! Might as well put chains on the snow tires.

The Hound suggests drivers just trade in their Camrys on four-by-fours or AWDs, especially since gasoline prices have dropped. Dealers are willing to trade and deal. What's that, there's an economic meltdown? Well, hope for a meltdown come snow season, because the salt shortage may not clear the roads, Bunky.

Those Antioch officials sure don't know which way to turn. Faced with a revenue crunch, village trustees are expected to adopt an ordinance next month making homeowners responsible for clearing snow from their sidewalks within 24 hours of a two-inch snowfall. Yea, let's get those senior citizens out there clearing their sidewalks after a heavy snow, the type meterologists dub "heart attack" snow.

Who's advising these yokels? Wait till AARP hears about this law. Some communities recommend clearing sidewalks by residents and even have hold-harmless laws in case anybody slips and breaks a hip. What about those "snowbirds" who take flight to Florida, Arizona or Hawaii at the first sign of freezing precipitation. If you're not home, how can you clean your sidewalk?

Why stop there? Get those shovels and snowblowers out and have residents start sweeping their streets during snowfalls. Won't have to worry about snowplows or salt or snowplow drivers. Just one more way for Antioch to save money.

In the summer, same drill except without the snow. The Hound has been told the Europeans do this all the time. They wash down their sidewalks and streets. And, nobody makes them!

Think about all the tax revenue which will be generated by residents buying all those new shovels, brooms and snowblowers to Antioch's brigade of street sweepers. That's one way to balance the books.

Whoa, aren't we supposed to get the type of rains we got Friday night into Saturday once every 100 years? Guess not, right sump pump watchers?

Blame it on global warming, climate change or just the odd happenstance of wierd weather. Whatever, we certainly took a deluge.

For a while on Saturday, The Hound was worried the dog house would have to be evacuated. Roads were closed due to flooding, sump pumps were working overtime and Hurricane Ike's rain has yet to hit. Are we doomed or should be start building an ark? But not that ark Steve Carell built in "Evan Almighty."

As for The Hound, it's time to put the dog house on stilts, like they do in some barrier islands which get hit by hurricanes, which may occur here on Sunday. Stay high and dry.

The Hound's Gurnee correspondents are still tittering over the latest issue of "Keeping Posted", the village's newsletter. What has them guffawing is Mayor Kristina Kovarik's monthly message .

"The winter did expose some flaws in our ability to deal with heavy snowfalls," her honor notes with a straight pen. "I'm happy to report that Village staff has taken the initiative to conduct some intense planning sessions that will correct deficiencies in our snow removal operations."

What the mayor doesn't address is why the public works director resigned suddenly and that two long-time public works employees were disciplined. Did it have to do with the poor street-clearing performance during the winter of ought seven and eight? That would be the winter when the village ran out of salt --- not that Gurnee was the only governmental agency to be caught short of sodium chloride. Or is is calcium chloride they use on Midwest roads? Or is there something more to the issues with the three public works guys?

The copy of "Keeping Posted" The Hound saw has Mayor Kovarik concluding: "We listened to the feedback received and the message was loud and clear --- pristine roads and optimal driving conditions are of the utmost importance."

Nothing gets past some public officials, eh?

Despite bad snowplowing, Gurnee does have some of the best fireworks in the county on July 4 and during Gurnee Days. Maybe bread and circuses will get the chill off village residents.

Supposedly, The Hound will wake up this morning and face below-zero temperatures and life-threatening windchills during the day and again on Sunday.If the weatherfolks are right, and they've been at a loss for words of late, this will be nothing like The Hound faced as a young pup in the 1980s. It was really cold back then. Really.