Jan. 31, 2011
In 2011, a mix of heavy snowfall, freezing winds, and great amounts of lightning brought on a blizzard that effectively buried the beautiful city in snow. It ranged all the way from Oklahoma to Wisconsin and ended up affecting around 100 million people. The storm knocked the lights out for 84,000 city residents; and it led to a two day halt of all CPS schools, airports, and generally all traffic.
Intro to Chicago weather
Chicago's climate is notoriously known for its cold winters, hot summers, humidity, and as the “windy city.” This is mainly accredited to its subjugation to both the lake and island effect: where the island effect is when great metropolitan areas like Chicago become significantly warmer than their surroundings. Factors such as population growth and high volumes of infrastructure play a major role, so consequently these cities tend to experience an increase in average temperature. Meanwhile, the lake effect occurs when cold winds move across areas of a lake and end up picking up water vapor that freezes and precipitates downwind. This effect is intensified when the moving air mass is uplifted by the higher elevations on the downwind shores. This produces intense precipitation, which effectively becomes a heavy increase in snowfall. In particular to 2011 and 5 other distinct years before it, this extratropical cyclone was a result of this aforementioned phenomena. Nonetheless, natives console themselves with the fact that we don’t have earthquakes or tornadoes. Snow is harmless and can even be beautiful. Plus it would get you out of school!
Extent of the blizzard
The aftermath of the snowstorm proved to be very intense. After 40 hours of constant snowfall and powerful wind gusts that reached up to 70 mph, there were a total of 7 deaths that were directly linked to this blizzard. The 911 center actually received a whopping 24,584 calls between the first two days. It also took about 33 hours for crews to remove the snow from Lake Shore Drive and other major highways to be able to reopen them to the public.
The city was in absolute shambles making sure that all living beings were rescued.
My experience
10 year-old me had a blast. Amidst all of the devastation, the best of humanity always comes out in times like these. My neighborhood was already a tight knit community, so after the storm passed, all of the husbands banded together to clear out the alleys. One of my core childhood memories was layering up and heading out with my dad (not to help them shovel of course), but to throw myself at the piles of snow and just be an absolute menace.
Sources:
https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-blizzard-2011-snowmageddon-biggest-snowstorms-winter-storm/10139546/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extratropical_cyclone
https://wwmt.com/news/local/lake-effect-season-is-here-does-a-warmer-lake-michigan-mean-more-snow
Williams, George C. "Weather note: An occurrence of lake snow is one of the direct effects of Lake Michigan on the climate of the Chicago area." Monthly Weather Review 91.9 (1963): 465-467.
I don't think I've ever experienced 40 hours of continuous snowfall, even as a Minnesota native. Do you know how much snow you ended up getting?
ReplyDeleteVanessa,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you were able to balance the severity of this 2011 Hazard while also highlighting your close knit community and the fun you had in the snow.