Iowa: Dubuque snowfall running ahead of last year's record-breaking pace

The last week of 2008 should give tri-state-area residents a respite from a seemingly relentless series of winter storms.

The break could be brief, however, ending once we change calendars.

"We're stuck in a rut in a way," said Harry J. Hillaker, the Iowa state climatologist. "Taking a look at the two-week outlook, it is favoring below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation. It is putting us back in the pattern we had in the beginning of December."

That means more snow.

Dubuque already has received 28.5 inches of snow this season -- about 9 inches ahead of the record-breaking pace of 2007-08.

Iowa: Council suggests spending billions of dollars in a ridiculous attempt to make the world's climate infinitesimally colder

The final report presents 56 policy options, and analyzes the net cost impact of 37 of them. The costs were estimated at about $4.8 billion between 2009 and 2020, or a weighted average cost of $8.80 per metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions reduced.