Science
It Is 75 Degrees in Chicago and We Are Not Going to Talk About What Happens Next
A warm front arrived over the city Monday morning. James Okafor went outside and is still thinking about it.
Bridgeport Pothole Develops Thriving Ecosystem, Applies for Wetland Protection
A pothole on South Halsted has been left unrepaired so long that it now hosts plant life, tadpoles, and what one biologist calls 'a genuinely impressive food web.'
Annual Pothole Migration Arrives Two Weeks Early, CDOT Deploys 25 Crews to Manage What Scientists Are Calling 'an Inevitability'
March's freeze-thaw cycles have opened the streets of Chicago like perforated envelopes, and the city's 311 system has received more complaints about road surfaces than about any other topic for the first time since 2019.
Chicago Experiences All Four Seasons in Single Week, Residents Unmoved
A March that delivered sub-zero wind chills, 60 mph gusts, record-breaking rainfall, and 65-degree sunshine has prompted meteorologists to ask if anyone is even listening anymore.
Canada Geese Return to Lakefront Two Weeks Early, Immediately Establish Dominance Over Entire Path System
An estimated 4,000 Canada geese have descended on the lakefront trail ahead of schedule, forming blockades at key intersections and converting several stretches of the path into what wildlife officials are calling 'a no-go zone for bipeds.'
Flock of Green Parakeets Spotted in the Loop Has Scientists Excited, Pigeons Concerned
A growing colony of monk parakeets has established itself near Millennium Park, raising questions about urban ecology and avian social hierarchies.
Chicagoans Hold Breath as Spring Equinox Approaches, Fully Aware March Has Lied Before
With the vernal equinox arriving Thursday, lakefront residents report cautious optimism tempered by the deep institutional memory of March blizzards, April ice storms, and that one year it snowed in May.
Chicago Streets Present Layered Archaeological Record of St. Patrick's Day and Election Day Occurring Simultaneously
City sanitation crews report that the morning-after debris field from March 17 — green confetti intermingled with campaign literature, shamrock beads tangled in yard signs — constitutes 'the most civically complex cleanup in recent memory.'
Chicago Drops 27 Degrees in Ten Days; Meteorologists Confirm This Is Just 'What March Does'
After a euphoric 54°F Saturday on March 7 sent residents into a frenzy of premature patio furniture deployment, today's high of 27°F has arrived like a correction in the emotional markets.
Meteorologists Confirm March 16 Blizzard Is Winter's Way of Having the Last Word
A bomb cyclone drops up to four inches of snow on a city that had already emotionally committed to spring, raising familiar questions about hubris, seasonal denial, and the nature of hope in the Midwest.
Chicago Survives Longest Freeze in 19 Years, Emerges Unsure of Itself
After weeks of temperatures at or below zero, Chicago residents report a creeping unfamiliarity with the concept of going outside without a specific reason.
A Six-Inch Hailstone Fell on Kankakee and Scientists Are Asking What It Wants
A potentially record-breaking hailstone measured six inches in diameter during Tuesday's severe weather outbreak, prompting atmospheric scientists to wonder whether the atmosphere is trying to communicate something, and if so, what.
Moon Apologizes to Chicago for 'Unscheduled Darkening' Tuesday Morning
Earth's only natural satellite issued a statement expressing embarrassment over the total lunar eclipse, citing poor planning and a general failure to communicate with the lakefront community.
Pope Leo XIV's Childhood Church Makes Preservation Chicago's Endangered List; Vatican Described as 'Aware'
The South Side parish where the first American-born pope grew up has been flagged as one of Chicago's most architecturally at-risk buildings, a development that local preservationists say raises 'significant questions' about whether holiness is load-bearing.
Lake Michigan Water Levels Drop Another 7 Inches as Lake Reportedly 'Going Through Something'
Hydrologists confirm that Lake Michigan's water levels have declined steadily since last year, falling 17 inches over two years. Researchers say the lake appears to be withdrawing emotionally as well as physically.
Lake Michigan Offers to Share Water With Drought-Stricken Downstate, Demands Naming Rights in Return
As 80% of Illinois suffers through worsening drought conditions, the Great Lake has reportedly proposed a water-sharing agreement with terms that hydrologists are calling 'bold' and 'very lake-like.'
Lake Michigan Petitions Federal Government for Reclassification as Ocean
Great Lake files 200-page brief arguing its 'emotional vastness and unpredictable fury' meet every reasonable definition of an ocean.
Scientists Discover Chicago River Now Flows in Third, Previously Unknown Direction
Researchers at the University of Chicago have identified a baffling new flow pattern in the Chicago River that defies conventional hydrology and, frankly, physics.