Surviving the Chicago Winter Weather

Finally, Chicago has gotten its first snow of the year! For some people, snow is the wonderful white blanket that shimmers on the street and for others, it is the irritating substance that falls out of the sky and must be shoveled off of roads, sidewalks, and cars. Besides snow, the temperature itself is getting colder and colder; by Wednesday or so, we are supposed to hit the single digits or even get below zero. Anyways, as a native born Chicagoan, I have experienced all of  Mother Nature’s doings thus far. I have learned a couple of things to get by with this extreme weather.

• If you have to be somewhere at a given time, leave EARLY (like 30 minutes). Traffic on the streets are terrible when snow, slush, and cold temperatures are involved. Cars move slowly, pedestrians take extra caution walking across the streets, and no driver wants to be near the city truck that dispenses salt onto the street.
• Dress with layers. Even though this is an obvious piece of advice, it is good to be reminded.
• If you shovel snow now, things will be good. Clean up the sidewalk and driveway at any possible time! The more you procrastinate on this, the more difficult it is to clean it up later. The snow might freeze overnight!
• Be nice to others. After shoveling and the feeling of being cold, it is common for people to not be in the best mood (especially in the morning). Even if you are not in the best mood, try not to carry that on towards others.

-Stay warm & have a wonderful day!