Its Not Just Me Over Reacting!

I know I complain a lot lately about the weather, but it really has just seemed to be very rainy and gloomy every day. I find myself struggling to get out of bed, and getting sleepy during the day. This is not a good thing, since I should be cutting back on caffeine for training ... yet caffeine is the one thing I crave all day! So, an article in todays Chicago Tribune (by Jeffs favorite, Tom Skilling) suddenly makes things so much clearer:

August's 6.40" wettest in 17 years--nearly 3 times normal!
With soils saturated and a number of streams and rivers in flood, area residents are likely to cast nervous glances at each new cluster of thunderstorms in the days to come. Were August to proceed through its remaining nine days without an additional drop of rain, the month--with 6.40" on the books to date--would rank 13th wettest of the past 137 Augusts.

There hasn't been a wetter 20-day August open at the city's official rain gauge since 1990 when 7.25" had fallen by this date. Only seven other Aug. 1-20 periods since 1871 have been wetter. But the story is an even wetter one in areas around the city. WeatherBug rainfall sensors in northwest suburban Palatine have tallied 13.05", while 9.82" has fallen at Highland Park and 9.33" in Glencoe.