It is a real mess, sometimes costing a job or two. All this extra hot air does not seem to help in reducing the amount of accumulated snow. Even if the first snowfall isn't a monumental mess, it is a sacred Chicago tradition that it be compared to several previous years' snowfalls. After a few days of talking about it, we generally come to a consensus about which year it most resembled. We then commit to compare each and every day for the next 270 remaining days of winter to this agreed upon year.
Exaggeration is part of that tradition.
Early in the snow season, some truths are hard to stretch. As the season stretches on into March, we'll believe just about any concoction of words anyone can string together. That's what we call it, too. But it's generally a lead in to something else. People in Chicago are gonna' talk.