Posted in Illinois
January 12, 2022
It’s Impossible To Forget These 3 Horrific Winter Storms That Have Gone Down In Illinois History
We’ve all been through a bad winter storm, but some storms are worse than others. And some are so memorable that they go down in history as some of the worst winter storms in Illinois. With record snow accumulation and a variety of additional factors, the following historic storms shut down the state.
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One of the worst winter storms to ever hit the state of Illinois was the Chicago Blizzard of 1967. Occurring on January 26th and 27th, 1967, this menacing storm dumped 23 inches of snow, had over 50 mph winds, and caused snowdrifts of four-to-six feet. This is one storm that essentially shut down the entire city of Chicago, including O'Hare. Thousands of cars and buses were stranded and it was a veritable nightmare in the aftermath of this storm. Damages were assessed at around $150 million, and over 60 had people died. You can learn more about the Chicago Blizard of 1967 in our previous coverage.
February 2, 2011, was Groundhog Day, the day when the country was meant to find out if there would be six more weeks of winter weather. Instead, the people of Illinois experienced about six weeks' worth of winter weather in three days, January 31-February 2. If you've never experienced a Snowpocalypse like what occurred over those days, consider yourself lucky. Not only did this blizzard affect Illinois, but much of the United States and Canada.
On January 31st, there was a light snowfall but as the storm continued, it got much worse. Gusts between 50-60 miles per hour started the following day, creating dangerous conditions including zero visibility at times as well as massive snowdrifts. The total snowfall measured at Chicago's O'Hare Airport was 21.2 inches, while the total at the Rockford Airport was 15.1 inches. You can learn more about the historic Groundhog Day Blizzard on the Weather.gov website.
One of the top five snowstorms ever record in the Chicago area occurred during Super Bowl weekend from January 31 to February 2, 2015. Known as "Winter Storm Linus," this blizzard dumped 19.3 inches of snow on Chicago, 22 inches in Lincolnshire, and 11.9 inches in Rockford. A low-pressure system, Arctic air, and other factors created quite the recipe for disaster. You can read more about Winter Storm Linus on the Weather.gov website.
Were you around for these worst winter storms in Illinois? What other memorable storms have you lived through? Tell us about your experience in the comments.
