There's a COLD Wind blowing today....

I am no scientist, or meteorologist... but I know a few things about how the weather works in northern Illinois.  I mean I have lived here my entire life, and I listen to WGN Meteorologist Tom Skilling, because he knows his stuff.  And I listened to my mother's weather lore, from her lifetime in northern Illinois.

I am writing this on January 1, 2018. The coldest day of the year *wink ..... it is -10F/-23C this fine, sunny morning.  Yes, full sunshine. No clouds. Wind chills are predicted to be, well.... 20 to 30 degrees COLDER than the temperature. 

That "sunny" morning bit, that's the bit I do not like.... let me explain....

When it is sunny in the winter time it is COLDER!  This is true in northern Illinois, and here is my, very simple, explanation:  there are no clouds to hold the warm air in.  That's it. That is the simple explanation.  So I really HATE when people whine, "but I wish the sun was out", in the dead of winter.

When we have good snow cover, and it is cloudy, it is actually WARMER! That is a fact.  Go ahead and ask Tom Skilling (check out his Facebook wall).  

Right now, today, we have had very little snowfall this winter.  There is maybe an inch and a half of snow on the ground right now. That is negligible for what I am talking about, so cloud cover would not be much help today.

The jet stream and lack of snow and lack of clouds have conspired to produce a frigid, dangerously cold beginning for 2018. 

that, in a nutshell, is it.  Oh, and please,... PLEASE do not tell me that you wish the sun was out in the dead of winter..... they call it the "dead" of winter for a reason you know.....

The weather outside is frightful!

this sums it up nicely

I am okay without sunshine for the winter months,...it's warmer, and I don't like bright light.