In 1979, Illinois Plunged Into An Arctic Freeze That Makes This Year's Winter Look Downright Mild
By Elizabeth Crozier|Published January 31, 2018
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Elizabeth Crozier
Author
An Illinois transplant who grew up and went to school in Indiana for 22 years, Elizabeth holds a BFA in creative writing and has enjoyed traveling across the country and parts of Europe. She has visited half of the states, as well as parts of Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and regularly travels home to the Hoosier State to see friends and family. With more than five years of writing experience, Elizabeth’s articles have been featured on several websites, and her poetry and short stories have been published in multiple literary journals.
While some days may seem unbearably cold this winter, Illinois is actually having a rather mild season. As we hover around the freezing point, it’s important to remember that it could be much worse. The state has seen an arctic freeze far worse than this.
If your grandparent has ever mentioned how kids today don’t know what it was like when they had to walk through 10 feet of snow to get to school, this is probably why. Back in the ’70s, blizzards and deep freezes were common. Read on for more details.
Thank your lucky stars that Illinois actually isn't facing a polar vortex or a snowpocalypse this year. More commonly known as a blizzard, a really bad one hit Illinois in 1979 that makes our current winter seem like nothing.
Of course, different parts of the state had slightly differing temperatures and rates of accumulation. Around the Quad Cities (Moline and Rock Island), the average temp was 14 degrees. January alone averaged just six degrees in this area. Brrr!
In addition to an arctic freeze, record snowfall also hit the Quad Cities. A total of nearly 53 inches fell throughout the season with 18 inches falling during one blizzard January 12-14, 1979.
Over on the east side of the state, in and around Chicago, the average temperature was just under 19 degrees that year. It was the second coldest winter in the city's history with 14 days at or below zero degrees.
Of course, snowfall was also rough. The whole season totaled nearly 90 inches of snowfall, which is the most ever in the city. After an initial 10 inches, nearly 20 more inches hit the ground in January alone.
So far this year, we've seen a couple bouts of snow, but nothing that compares to the winter of 1979. This historic arctic freeze was so rough that many who lived through it still talk about it to this day.
