THE GALES OF NOVEMBER CAME (UNPRECEDENTEDLY) EARLY. Thursday's view from my window didn't look like measurable snow, but at the measuring stations, there was a record to measure.

Thursday's snow flurries - a half-inch as of mid-afternoon, according to the National Weather Service - broke the record for the earliest recorded measurable snowfall in DeKalb. Previously, the record for DeKalb stood at 1.8 inches on Oct. 20, 1989. Most of the Chicago area broke local records as well.

The university's Thursday afternoon weather forecast elaborated.

There's been a flurry of activity this morning at NIU Weather, snow fooling, shoveling out of a myriad of phone calls and emails about our early record snow. To be sure, I thought flurries and a very light coating of snow was a given, but the heavy snow bands surprised us all, and broke the record snowfall amounts across many stations of northern Illinois. All of the following amounts as of 11 AM break earliest measurable snowfall records:

Rockford (east side): 2.0"
Belvidere: 1.5"
Palatine: 1.3"
DeKalb: .5"
Chicago (both near O'Hare and Midway, official): .3"
Oak Brook: .3"
Bensenville: .2"

I see a band of heavy snow heading for the Rockford airport, so if they get .1", they tie their all-time earliest measurable snowfall record. Chances are they'll do it. In any case, here's how the last 7 years of first snowfalls of the season compare to this year:

2006---October 12.....trace (our .5" today gets recorded to 7 AM tomorrow morning)
2005---November 16....trace
2004---November 25....2.3"
2003---November 24....trace
2002---November 6.....trace
2001---December 19... .2"
2000---November 14....trace

The average first flurries occurring in DeKalb and the Chicago/Rockford areas is around October 31. The average first measurable snowfall is around November 15. The average first 1" of snow occurs about December 1. And the average first 4" of snow is on Christmas.

It has all melted, which makes the task of uprooting all the life-expired vegetable plants easier.