It has been a rough and cold winter so far, but according to Illinois Climatologist Jim Angel, it hasn’t been as cold as other winters, but he does say this year’s winds have made it more uncomfortable though.  Angel says it reached 13 below zero last week and you would have to go about 15 years to match that, as it matched in February 3, 1996, but it was minus 21 degrees on February 12, 1899.  In fact, there were no days below zero from 2000 to 2009 with only a couple days in 2010 and now already a few this year below zero.  He talked about the snowfall amounts and records with high amounts in the late 70s and early 80s, but recently it hasn’t been much, with only 2 inches 2 winters ago.  Back in the winter of 2002 to 2003 there were 32 and a half inches of snow, while in the winter of 1981 to 1982, there were 42.8 inches of snow.  Already this winter there has been 18 to 19 inches of snow.  Angel says the 1930s and 1950s were decades of drought, but beginning in the mid-1960s, it has been wet years, but that may not last and we go back to dry years as the norm.