Some have called it snopocalypse, others, snarmageddon. It may not have been the snowy end of the world, but it was, in my opinion definitely a s n u r r i n c a n e ! No catchy phrases needed though...Blizzard pretty much says it all. As my friend from CA said, "I heard you were having a blizzard, and I don't think they meant the kind from Dairy Queen!"
Crazy. I don't know how else to describe it. We live just off of Lakeshore Drive and the winds coming off Lake Michigan were so incredibly intense. It started snowing about 3:00 Tuesday afternoon and became progressively worse throughout the day and into the night. We took Brizz out before dinner, and the wind had already started whipping up. Justin put on his ski goggles, and I thought he was crazy....until we saw another guy with the same eye gear and a girl wearing swimming goggles!
brizzie's friend, bear, ready for the blizzard
About 9 p.m. thundersnow started, lightning reflecting off the snow turning everything bright blue. Howling wind continued non-stop all night swirling snow around like a tornado. I talked to one girl who lives on the 56th floor of a building close to ours. The chains to her window shades were moving with the sway of her building. She could hear the elevators shifting. It was all very surreal. I was having flashbacks to 1989 and Hurricane Hugo in Charlotte, remembering being hunkered down in the hallway under a mattress and hearing trees falling around our house.
Luckily there was no hunkering for us and no trees falling in the blizzard. However, thousands of people in the Chicago area lost power; thankfully we did not. We are fortunate to live very close to downtown, so the plows were cleaning off streets around us before we woke up. People in the other neighborhoods who live on side streets weren't so lucky and their cars were still snowed in three days later. The city has suspended parking meter fees all week because cars were stuck in the piles of snow. There was really no parking anyway with huge piles of snow pushed together from the street and the sidewalk. Most roads were narrowed on both sides by plowed snow. The dump trucks are out now hauling it all away.
The images from the hundreds of cars stuck on Lakeshore Drive are incredible. I can't imagine being hopelessly stuck in my car all night right on Lake Michigan taking the brunt of that intense wind and blinding snow. It took a couple days to get all those cars dug out and then towed off Lakeshore. Justin came home at noon to avoid an accident or overnight stay in his car.....smart move.
We took Brizzie out about 9:00 the morning after and got to see the deep pristine drifts before they were shoveled, jumped in and yellowed. It was beautiful and amazing to see so much snow! Brizz had no fear and went romping right through the deepest drifts. While we were out, the last band of snow came through like icing on the cake. I was able to get a few pictures of the end of the blizzard, but it was nothing like the night before.
Check out more pics here:
That afternoon the snow finally stopped and we took a walk on the lake to survey the damage. People and their dogs were out everywhere enjoying the magic of mother nature. Chicago schools were closed for two days and the kids were loving it!
ice broken up by the storm
can't tell the difference between land and water
plowing lakeshore drive
snow day in chicago
let the shoveling begin!
don't eat the purple snow either....it's salt
Now, if this storm had hit Charlotte, the city would have been paralyzed for at least a week and a half, if not two weeks. Not Chicago though. I kept wondering when Chicago was going to get a big snow. With all the storms in the Northeast this winter, I was feeling a little left out. I imagined there would be a foot of snow on the ground all winter. Well, now we might have two feet around until spring. It takes a while for snow to melt around here, and with negative degree temps (without the windchill), I don't think anything will be melting anytime soon. So, I'll bundle up in all my layers and snow boots and go about business as usual, because that what Chicagoans do....think I can call myself a Chicagoan now that I've experienced a Chicago blizzard! And guess what...it's snowing again.
this guy has the right idea!
