CHIBERIA

Chicago has been uncharacteristically cold this winter. Schools and businesses have been closing, not because of the snow, but because of the temperature. Something that I've never heard of happening in this city. Yes we are known as the Windy City, but the wind has never been this bad to us. In fact, with wind chill we've hit temperatures as low as - 40F. Which is the coldest temperature in the history of Illinois (or at least since I've been alive). Chicago was reportedly even colder than Antarctica. And it's not like the temperature dips and then picks back up gradually, I wish. It gets cold and stays cold. Around Chicago, we have seen about 60 hours of sub-zero temperatures. Not once, but twice this month we've entered into this polar vortex. At one point, a couple weeks ago, the governor of Illinois even issued a statewide disaster declaration. This apparently activated the state's emergency operations plan and the Illinois National Guard.

Okay so why is Chicago being particularly miserable this season? It's because the climate change has made the polar vortex drunk. Yes, I said drunk. The vortex that usually spins in a circle around the North Pole is no longer a circle, but a bit tipsy. This mishap is forcing extreme cold weather that is usually present near the poles to spread into regions across North America. A Huffington Post article mentioned that because of these "extreme temperature inversions- on Monday, Memphis was 20 degrees colder than Anchorage, Ala.; Atlanta was colder than Moscow, Russia; and Nashville was colder than Albany, New York. On Tuesday, Marianna, Fla. was two degrees colder than Anchorage. Yet in the week leading up to vortex, there was a 115-degree difference between Florida and Minnesota."

GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL!


**In all seriousness though. I've been complaining about the bitter cold temperatures from under the covers of my warm bed in a house filled with heat. There are hundreds of Chicagoans that cannot even dream of this privilege. If you see any of the homeless or know of anyone in need of a warm place to stay or a well-being check for an elderly relative who may be in need - city officials ask that you call 311.