Traveling for Holidays? Watch the Forecast
Ah, a pretty sunrise. After a week-long siege of gray, leaden skies, it’s a nice break.
And… if the forecast is correct, it’s not going to last. Not by a long shot.
If you don’t obsess about weather forecasts, it’s my obligation as a certified weather junkie to make sure you know that a snowstorm with possible blizzard conditions, starting Thursday into Friday, is increasingly considered a strong possibility by the weather pros. This will be followed by some of the coldest Christmas weather, like, ever.
If you are traveling, the possible conditions could seriously fu… um…mess with your plans. If you can leave a little earlier than planned, it might be a good idea (erring on the side of caution can often be one of the best decisions you can make).
Now we know that any winter storm forecast three days out has a general range of a dusting to feet of snow. Nonetheless, here’s what the National Weather Service forecast discussion suggested this morning as a likely scenario.
Sure doesn’t sound like something you wanna get caught in the middle of.
- Increasing chances of initial accumulating snow late Wednesday night into Thursday afternoon, including low mentionable chances of freezing rain across the southeast third of the CWA. - Rapidly deteriorating conditions by late Thursday afternoon, with dangerous blizzard conditions appearing increasingly likely Thursday night into Friday. Those with travel plans during this time should begin to consider alternate arrangements as substantial travel impacts are appearing more likely. - Very strong north to northwest winds Thursday night and Friday that may result in power outages across the area due to falling tree limbs and snowload. Lakeshore flooding concerns will also be elevated during this time, especially for the Indiana shore. - Dangerous bitter cold with wind chills -20F and lower Friday night into Christmas Day (Sunday) regardless of the track of the late week storm system. Potential power outages from the expected strong winds will exacerbate impacts from the very cold conditions.
Godspeed and watch the skies.
All I Want for Christmas…
… is here.
Meat Drop, Market and Beer
Saturday turned into one of my local food fanatic relays
It started with Jake’s Country Meats’ drop outside the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park (familiar to some of you as the former site of Green City Market’s winter indoor seasons). I’ve been purchasing Jake’s delicious meats from pasture-raised livestock for a decade at Green City’s outdoor markets. Over the past few years, they’ve eschewed the indoor markets for monthly meat drops at various locations.
That turkey breast in the photo is going to be the centerpiece of our little Christmas dinner. I also purchased a couple of their superb pork steaks.
Follow Jake’s Facebook page for updates about drop dates and sites.
Then it was off to Avondale for the Green City indoor market. Though a little off the beaten path, the market is drawing a lot of customers whose interests in fresh, local, sustainably produced food is a year-round thing.
My market haul: White mushrooms from River Valley Ranch (Burlington, Wisconsin); apple cider from Ellis Family Farms (Benton Harbor, Michigan); Australian bacon, aka cottage bacon, from Finn’s Ranch (Buchanan, Michigan); rainbow carrots and potatoes from Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois); rolled oats from Brian Severson Farms (Dwight, Illinois); pretzel bagels from Dorothy’s Bistro (Chicago); and tofu salads from Phoenix Bean Tofu (Chicago).
Please note that Green City has started a holiday hiatus, and there will be no indoor market on the next two Saturdays, December 24 and 31. They’ll be back at it every other week starting Saturday, January 7.
Then I segued just up the block to Metropolitan Brewing’s taproom in the Rockwell on the River complex. When Metropolitan opened in 2009, it was a craft brewing pioneer of bringing back traditional German styles (German immigrants in the 19th century were the first to make Chicago a beer capital).
Joined by two friends/Local Food Forum subscribers (thanks for coming, Ben and Lisa!), I sampled two of their tasty beers: the Woke as Helles coffee bier in the photo above…
... and the Arc Welder Dunkel Rye (love me some rye beers).
The taproom is spacious with comfortably placed tables, and patrons are welcome to bring their well-behaved dogs. There is also a lovely patio overlooking the North Branch of the Chicago River that no one was using for obvious reasons.
There’s always warmer days ahead.