Skates make their way across ice covered with a light snow at Brenton Skating Plaza in downtown Des Moines, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012. Thursday in Lincoln is the 297th in a row without measurable snow. The former record was 295 snow-free days in 2004. (AP Photo/Barbara Rodriguez)
This NOAA satellite image taken Thursday, December 6, 2012 at 1:45 PM EDT shows a band of clouds off the East Coast along a strong cold front. Areas of clouds are seen across the Southeast associated with a surface trough. A large area of clouds are seen across the middle of the U.S., producing rain and snow across the upper Great Lakes and Midwest as an area of low pressure moves eastward.(AP PHOTO/WEATHER UNDERGROUND)
This NOAA satellite image taken Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 at 1:45 a.m. EST shows a cold front moving across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. Rain showers and cooler temperatures will march eastward with this front over the next few days.(AP PHOTO/WEATHER UNDERGROUND)
DES MOINES, Iowa — No snow boots needed in Milwaukee. Chicago commuters aren’t dodging knee-deep snow drifts frozen along city sidewalks. And children in Des Moines are settling for ice shavings dumped from a Zamboni. Many cities in the Midwest haven’t seen any decent snow …
