Cars were stuck on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive on February 2, 2011, after Groundhog’s Blizzard.
(Getty Images / Scott Olson)
- A snowstorm will hit Chicago this weekend.
- Almost 10 years ago, that day was one of its heaviest snowstorms ever.
- This Marmot blizzard has paralyzed travel in parts of the central US
Chicago is coming out of a snowstorm this weekend, but it will be nothing like the paralyzing blizzard it suffered almost 10 years ago.
In early February 2011, Chicagoland was hit by one of its heaviest snowstorms. Groundhog Blizzard poured 21.2 inches of snow at Chicago O’Hare Airport from January 31 to February. 2, 2011.
It was the third strongest snowstorm in the city, second only to the January 1967 storm (23 inches in two days) and the 1999 New Year storm (21.6 inches in three days).
Blizzard of the Groundhog set the historic 24-hour snowfall record in the city, with 50 centimeters of snow burying O’Hare from the afternoon of February 1 until the morning of Groundhog Day, February 2. That’s more than half of the city’s 36-inch annual snowfall in just 24 hours.
Satellite image visible from Groundhog Blizzard on February 1, 2011.
(NOAA, NASA)
The storm produced occasional lightning and gusts of 50 to 70 mph reduced visibility to less than a quarter mile for 11 consecutive hours at O’Hare and to almost zero at Midway Airport on February 1, according to National Weather Service (NWS)
About 1,300 flights were canceled at O’Hare and Midway before the storm.
Strong winds ripped part of the roof panel off Wrigley Field and closed sidewalks and nearby streets, according to the Midwest Regional Climate Center.
The NWS said the 2011 Groundhog Blizzard was just the second snowstorm in Chicago on modern records to be considered a true blizzard, based on criteria of sustained winds or frequent gusts and severely reduced visibility. The January 1967 storm was another.
Deviations of 2 to 5 feet were common, with some exceeding 3 meters, which made it difficult for some residents to even leave their homes. Drivers abandoned their vehicles on Lake Shore Drive in one of the most iconic winter storm scenes in recent years.
Despite this, 11 people died in Illinois in the storm.
A rare category 5 winter storm
This was not just a snowstorm in Chicago.
Blizzard warnings were issued for eight states, from Oklahoma to Lower Michigan, where more than 25 centimeters of snow covered the ground.
A map showing snow accumulation during the 2011 Groundhog Blizzard.
(NOAA / NCEI)
States of emergency have been declared in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
It was the heaviest snowfall (13.2 inches) and two days (14 inches) recorded in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A snowstorm fell in Oklahoma City and closed Will Rogers World Airport for 20 hours. Parts of Sooner State caught 50 centimeters of snow.
In southeastern Wisconsin, vehicles were stuck on Interstates 43 and 94 south of Milwaukee.
Blizzard Marmot 2011 was one of four other storms in the Ohio Valley region since 1900 to be categorized by NOAA as a Category 5 winter storm, the strongest category on the Regional Snowfall Index scale.
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