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26 | November 8, 2018 | The Mokena Messenger life & arts
mokenamessenger.com
Weathering the Storm
‘Normal’ month anything but normal in October
Mark T. Carroll
Contributing Columnist
October weather in
review
While the average
October temperature
was near normal,
October temperatures
were anything but normal.
For the month, Chicago
O’Hare International Airport
was 0.2 degrees above normal,
while Chicago Midway
International Airport was
0.8 degrees below normal.
The first 10 days of October
recorded temperatures
above normal, followed
by below normal temperatures
from Oct. 11 through
Oct. 21. The month ended
with Oct. 30 and 31 being
above normal, with the high
temperature over 60 degrees
each day (which made for a
nice Halloween).
Rapidly falling temperatures
because of a cold front
produced the first recordings
of snow at O’Hare
and Midway on Oct. 20.
Neither airport recorded any
measurable snow, as only a
trace of snow was recorded
at each airport.
The same weather system
that produced frozen precipitation
also generated strong
winds as the cold front
passed. Wind gusts in the
early afternoon hours had
wind speeds that reached 61
mph at O’Hare and 60 mph
at Midway.
Precipitation was generally
above normal for the
month of October. October
was wet early in the month
and then wet again at the
end of the month. The
middle third of October
was relatively dry. Thunderstorms
produced some
locally heavy precipitation
during the month.
For the month, O’Hare
had 4.79 inches of rain,
which was 1.64 inches
above normal. Midway
recorded 5.85 inches of
rain, which was 2.61 inches
above normal. The following
are monthly precipitation
totals for our area.
• Homer Glen — 6.08
inches
• Mokena — 6.04 inches
• Lockport — 5.68 inches
• New Lenox — 4.95
inches
On the night of Oct. 30
into the morning of Halloween,
heavy rain fell in
some areas. Thunderstorms
brought some heavier
rainfall early Halloween
morning. The following are
rainfall totals for the 24-
hour period ending at 7 a.m.
on Halloween.
• Homer Glen — 0.95
inches
• Four locations in New
Lenox had rainfall totals
ranging from 0.70 inches to
1.00 inch
Hurricane Michael
The effects of Hurricane
Michael will be felt for
many years along Florida’s
Gulf Coast and Georgia. At
this point, it is thought that
Michael was responsible for
numerous deaths and damages
exceeding $10 billion.
Hurricane Michael made
landfall on Oct. 10 near
Mexico Beach, Florida.
The estimated wind speed
at landfall was 155 mph,
which meant it was a Category
4 hurricane.
Hurricanes are classified
as Category 5 when sustained
wind speeds are 157
mph and higher. At landfall,
Michael was the third strongest
United States hurricane
in terms of pressure and the
fourth strongest in terms of
wind speed.
Tyndall Air Force base,
which is 12 miles east
of Panama City Beach, Florida,
recorded a peak wind
speed of 129 mph before
the wind monitoring system
failed.
I have a friend who lives
in Panama City, Florida.
Communications were difficult
after the storm arrived.
It took three days before we
were able to communicate
and I was able confirm that
he was OK. The cleanup
and repair of his home are
just beginning.
The weather for November
and beyond
The temperature forecast
from the National Centers
for Environmental Prediction
for Chicago for October was
for above-normal temperatures.
Temperatures were
very close to normal in October.
The NCEP precipitation
forecast for October was for
above-normal precipitation,
which was accurate.
The Centers’ forecast for
November is for below-normal
temperatures and abovenormal
precipitation. The
prediction for the months of
December and January is for
above-normal temperature
and normal precipitation.
Mark T. Carroll is the president
of CALM Weather LLC, a
meteorological consulting
service based in Oak Forest.
For more information, visit
calmwx.com.
wrigley
From Page 22
said, while Pete added, “We recently
counted; we’ve been to 16 states with
our kids.”
None of it would have been possible
without Wrigley the Flying Weimaraner
who spent much of his life giving
back to his community and family.
If you ask Megan, he still can.
“I want him to inspire other people
to try something new, make friends,
have fun with their dog,” Meghan
said. “It’s not about having the right
kind of dog. It’s about having the dog
that brings you on whatever adventure
you are meant to be on.
“He was a unique dog no one
thought would be good. You gotta
try. You could end up with a world of
friends and a world of memories.”
In Memoriam
The Weimaraner breed has a nickname:
Gray Ghost.
It’s because of how it shadow its
owners. The Weimaraner is passionately
loyal and demands to be around
its people. It is the breed’s purpose
and it was Wrigley’s, according to
Pete and Meghan.
In retirement, Wrigley lived the
good life, chasing a ball in his backyard
and walking the block with his
family, which as of 2015, included
Mike, a rescued Great Dane.
He was content still serving his purpose.
Then, the morning of Oct. 15, Wrigley
suffered bloat, a sudden condition
in which a dog’s chest cavity fills with
gas and, many times, flips the stomach.
With his other ailments, an already
risky surgery was not an option.
The family — Pete, Meghan, Addison,
Ellenore, Pete’s father and
Meghan’s parents — gathered at
Mokena Animal Hospital to comfort
Wrigley.
In his final moments, Wrigley saw
his people all around.
pub
From Page 24
denly. It definitely was the right
choice, without a doubt.”
Now, At Ease offers 38 craft
beers, six ciders, six wines, domestic
beers and hard liquor.
Roppo also expanded his food
menu by adding a variety of
sandwiches, salads, appetizers
and pizza.
“I got a lot of input from customers
saying it was just burgers
before, and I didn’t want to be
known as a burger place,” Roppo
said. “So ,it’s like, I’ll do some
changes to accommodate more
people instead of, ‘Let’s go here
for a burger,’ where [now] anyone
can come here and get something
other than a burger.”
Some of the new items on
the menu include the Buffalo
chicken sandwich ($12) which
is made with fresh chicken, Buffalo
sauce, provolone cheese,
pickles and lettuce. Roppo also
added a spicy chicken sandwich
($12), chicken caesar wrap
($12) and grilled chicken sandwich
($10). Every sandwich and
burger on the menu comes with
fries.
Also new to the menu are several
appetizers, including onion
rings ($4), fried cauliflower ($5)
and jalapeno poppers ($5). The
cheese curds ($5) have been popular
since Day 1 and remain on
the new menu.
Two menu items that stayed on
the menu and remain popular are
the grilled ch-ease ($10), which
has provolone, muenster, Gouda
and pimento cheeses, with bacon
and tomato. The bourbon burger
($12), another hit, has Brie
cheese and pickled onion.
When Roppo introduced the
revamped menu, he added two
house drinks he said he made
strong to represent the names that
accompany them. Army Ranger
($6.95) has rum, Red Bull and
Jägermeister, while the Bald Eagle
Martini ($7.50) has tequila,
grapefruit juice, cranberry juice,
lime juice and lemon juice, with
salt on the glass rim.
“I figured to be stronger is
what I wanted, because they have
military names,” Roppo said.
While the food and beverage
menu were revamped, Roppo
also made some changes inside.
He added three TVs, a dartboard
and TouchTunes, so customers
can pick their own music to play
in the pub.
As a veteran-owned business
in Homer Glen, Roppo said he
has received a lot of positive
feedback from customers.
“Everyone really likes the
name,” he said. “There’s a lot of
veterans that do come in. They’re
like, ‘Wow, this is awesome.’
They like what I’ve done with
the place.”