Chicago Weather Alert: Winter Storm Coming This Week Will Be Third Groundhog Day Snowstorm In Past 11 Years
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Traditionally, of course, Groundhog Day involves a groundhog – Woodstock Willie for the Chicago area – who prophesizes six more weeks of winter if he sees his shadow.
There is also, of course, the 1993 Bill Murray movie that involves reliving the same day that happens to be Groundhog Day over and over again.
But in the Chicago area over the last 11 years, whether or not there will be six more weeks of wintry weather has often been the last thing on our minds when we've been right in the thick of major snowstorms. And reliving the same day over and over again? We certainly haven't had a major snowstorm every Groundhog Day in Chicago in recent years – far from it – but the general concept might hit a little too close to home.
A major snowstorm is yet again in the forecast for Groundhog Day this year – this coming Wednesday. It will mark the 11th anniversary of one of the most severe blizzards in Chicago history, and the seventh anniversary of an occasion when it happened all over again.
The blizzard of 2011 began Jan. 31, 2011 – 11 years ago Monday. But it reached its apex on Feb. 2 – also a Wednesday that year – and thus became known as the Groundhog Day blizzard. It dumped 21.2 inches all told at O'Hare International Airport.
That figure is outranked only by the blizzard of Jan. 26-27, 1967, which dumped 23.0 inches, and the blizzard of Jan. 1-3, 1999, which dumped 21.6. Even the blizzard of Jan. 13-14, 1979 – which is credited for ousting Mayor Michael Bilandic from office due to complaints about the city's response – fell short of the 2011 blizzard, with 20.3 inches, albeit on top of 7 to 10 inches already on the ground from an earlier storm.
READ CBS CHICAGO COVERAGE OF THE BLIZZARD OF 2011: Massive Blizzard Wallops Chicagoland | Lake Shore Drive A Disaster; Drivers Stuck For Hours
Driving virtually anywhere in the Chicago area was nearly impossible during the storm, and many of those who tried ran into serious trouble.
Initially, what is now known as DuSable Lake Shore Drive was moving smoothly as the evening rush began on Tuesday, Feb. 1, but conditions began to deteriorate following several accidents. There were three accidents between 7:15 and 7:45 p.m., one of them involving a Chicago Transit Authority bus. Shortly afterward, there were two more accidents just south of North Avenue.
The accidents caused cars and buses to back up, and as the snow piled up, vehicles became immobilized and off-ramps became impassable. The Drive was closed at 7:58 p.m., and fire and police personnel worked to move as many cars as possible off the highway and remove people who could not get out on their own.
Some people ended up being stranded for up to 12 hours before they were rescued. Some frustrated drivers simply got out of their vehicles and abandoned them in the middle of the Drive.
A CTA bus driver told CBS 2's Vince Gerasole he had been stranded on Lake Shore Drive since 5:40 p.m. Tuesday. Feb. 1. That was at 5:15 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2.
The city ended up being sharply criticized for its response to the emergency on the Drive. On the one hand, they wanted to get people off the roadway, but on the other hand, they wanted them to remain in their cars so plows could attack the snow buildup.
As for those who were rescued, many were taken to St. Joseph Hospital for cold exposure. Others were taken to warming centers or placed on warming buses.
Meanwhile, the city's Department of Buildings said at the time that the roofs blew off at least two buildings – including a part of Wrigley Field. A panel on the roof at the ballpark above the press box was damaged by extreme winds during the blizzard.
But even if you were in the comfort of your own home, that Groundhog Day blizzard was a rare meteorological event - heavy snow, powerful winds, even lightning and thundersnow.
Four years later, it all happened again – albeit with somewhat less dramatic consequences on the roads. Beginning on Super Bowl Sunday Feb. 1 and continuing onto that Groundhog Day, another blizzard dumped 19.3 inches. That figure is the fifth highest in Chicago history.
There were no masses of cars left behind on Lake Shore Drive that year. But the heavy snow prompted the Chicago Public Schools and most other school districts in the area to cancel classes on Groundhog Day, as roads were treacherous. Museums and other institutions also closed early.
By Tuesday, Feb. 3, many streets were still covered in hard-packed snow, leaving cars slipping and sliding as they try to navigate deep ruts left behind by two days' worth of traffic on unplowed roads. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said city plow crews would not rest until every side street is passable and safe.
As for this year, the forecast does not call for a blizzard – which requires blowing and/or falling snow with wind speeds of at least 35 mph. But there is another winter storm coming, yet again, on Groundhog Day.
Models currently predict the heaviest snow will fall just south of Chicago. First Alert Weather models show most of the area is expected to see significant snow, anywhere from 5 to 11 inches.
A WINTER STORM WARNING takes effect at 8 p.m. and continue through Wednesday at 6 p.m. The warning takes effect in Cook, DuPage, Kendall, Grundy, Will, LaSalle, Kankakee counties and all of Northwest Indiana.
The heaviest snowfall is expected for Kankakee County and Northwest Indiana with nearly 14 inches of snow expected.
Snow will continue through the first half of Wednesday, before slowing in the afternoon. A second system, which appears to be tracking to the south, arrives Wednesday evening and lasts through Thursday afternoon.
