WE KNEW IT, KANKAKEE!

The entire time L and I were at the University of Illinois, we joked that Kankakee was the epicenter of crappy weather in the midwest. If it rained in Champaign, and snowed in Chicago, there was nasty, freezing rain in Kankakee. If there was heat in Champaign and cool in Chicago, there was a tornado in Kankakee. And so on, and so on.

It was a joke. Until I saw Tom Skilling's response in the Ask Tom Why column of the Tribune on Sunday. The question?

I'm sure there is a great deal of variation in seasonal snowfall between Green Bay and St. Louis, but are there meaningful differences across this area--say from Milwaukee to Kankakee?

Bravo, Jon Kartman of Mundelein for that question! Any relation to Eric Kartman? Anyway, kudos for picking Kankakee as one of the cities! Anyway, the answer:

You bet there are. As winter storms traverse the Midwest, the dividing line between rain and snow is frequently located somewhere in the greater Chicago area between Milwaukee and Kankakee. That means that the difference in seasonal snowfall between those two locations is significant, with Milwaukee's 52-plus inches doubling the typical 26 inches that Kankakee receives. If fact, the difference in seasonal snowfall between Green Bay (53") and St. Louis (22") is only about 5 inches greater, illustrating the fact that most of the variance in snowfall totals occurs across the Chicago metropolitan area.

Did you see that? "The dividing line between rain and snow is frequently located somewhere in the greater Chicago area between Milwaukee and Kankakee." Just as we thought! Kankakee is the epicenter of crappy weather in the midwest. We always knew it.

And where is Kankakee in the context of this discussion? See below.


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