I was scrolling through my dad’s very active Facebook account the other day to reminisce on the simple days of my childhood. It was filled with my dad inappropriately posing me with a Bud Light at the age of eight years old and my inevitable anti-pink tomboy phase.
I stumbled upon the only picture my dad has ever posted of both of us. We are surrounded by almost two feet of snow (basically my entire height at eight years old), a rather unique experience for the city of Chicago. This photo inspired me to do more research on what happened during those few days in Chicago.
The Groundhog Day Blizzard of 2011, or Snowmageddon, was the third-largest snowstorm in Chicago’s recorded history. The snow began to fall on January 31, 2011, and continued until February 2, 2011. It produced approximately 21.2 inches of snow. Twelve years later, I remember my entire street being blocked by snow.
…And blocked streets meant I could miss two days of third grade (a simple pleasure at eight years old).
The storm affected around 100 million people from Oklahoma to Wisconsin. In Chicago, the city’s day-to-day operations were halted. A very rare occurrence in a city of over two million people. Chicagoans abandoned their cars on the highway, the CTA system shut down, the Chicago 911 center received almost 25,000 calls, and thousands of residents were without power.
And it was for good reason.
This storm produced 70 mph winds and snow was falling at two inches per hour leaving little visibility. Arguably, the strangest thing about this storm was the thundersnow. A literal snowy thunderstorm: a very rare occurrence (less than 0.1% chance of this happening) that needs warm temperatures at the ground level and cooler temperatures high above the ground.
My parents’ little Hyundai Sonata absolutely buried
This storm had more than one quirk due to its nextdoor neighbor, Lake Michigan. Almost 20% of the snowfall during this storm can be credited to the Great Lakes, a phenomenon that was not experienced in other states affected by the same blizzard. Due to altered temperatures of the surface and dew point generated by the Great Lakes, lake-enhanced precipitation was able to occur.
The effects of global warming made this storm even more extreme. The snow-production was higher due the warmer atmosphere’s ability to hold water vapor. In spite of global warming deniers, global warming drastically affects winter weather despite the use of the word “warming.” These extreme circumstances created a brutal blizzard that shocked the residents of Chicago.
The blizzard lives in the minds of many Chicago residents over a decade later. And it definitely still lives in the mind of post-eight-year-old Tara who wonders why her dad was only wearing jeans during Snowmageddon.
https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/mwre/145/6/mwr-d-17-0025.1.xml?tab_body=abstract-display
https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-blizzard-2011-snowmageddon-biggest-snowstorms-winter-storm/10139546/
Somehow I have never heard of a snowy thunderstorm, for some reason. This whole story is super interesting - thanks for writing about it!
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