A look back at Chicago's Groundhog Day blizzard, 15 years later
From Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, 2011, Chicago experienced the third-worst blizzard the city has ever seen.
Watch CBS News
From Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, 2011, Chicago experienced the third-worst blizzard the city has ever seen.
From Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, 2011, Chicago got clobbered with 20.2 inches of snow in a blizzard that shut down what is now called DuSable Lake Shore Drive and left hundreds of drivers stranded. Jim Williams filed this report on the 10-year anniversary of the blizzard in 2011
While snow is obviously an important factor, it's also about wind and visibility.
CBS 2 Chief Meteorologist Albert Ramon is tracking the heavy snowfall set to cover the Chicago area starting late Thursday night.
Some Amtrak passengers even had to spend their Christmas in Union Station. They said things were looking up on Christmas Day – until their train got canceled yet again.
Buffalo was struggling to cope with its worst storm in years. The massive system is expected to claim more lives after trapping some residents in frigid homes and cars.
On Monday, Bills fans with whom we spoke said they knew they were risking getting stuck in Chicago as the data showed a once-in-a-lifetime blizzard would fall the holiday weekend.
The fans came for the Bears' game against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, and then found themselves stuck as a blizzard dumped 8 feet of snow on Buffalo. CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reports.
Buffalo fans came to Chicago for the Bears-Bills game at Soldier Field on Saturday, and now many of them are struggling to get home. CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reports.
Blowing snow will continue to be a concern on Saturday.
Winterland will also be closed on Christmas Day Sunday, and will reopen on Monday, Dec. 26.
With strong winds expected, IDOT is already prepared for blowing and drifting snow.
The strong storm is expected to hit Chicagoland with just about everything -- cold temperatures, high winds, dangerous wind chills, and potentially significant snow.
CHICAGO (CBS) — Here are the top 10 snowstorms in Chicago history, according to the National Weather Service:
On Jan. 31, 2011 – a decade ago Sunday – the snow began in a blizzard that did not let up for 40 hours.
Suburban Chicago is getting hit hard by one of the biggest November snowstorms on record. Thick, wet snow fell heavily overnight, with accumulations in some locations nearing a foot.
Chicago is under a winter storm warning, check back for the latest updates:
It was 50 years ago today that the biggest blizzard in Chicago brought the city to a standstill, as nearly 23 inches of snow buried the Windy City.
It's been the Big Dig-Out this morning for many in northwest Indiana and the far southern suburbs, after Wednesday's blizzard buried areas south and east of Chicago in several inches of heavy wet snow.
Tens of thousands of people in northwest Indiana lost power Wednesday, when a blizzard dumped more than a foot of snow in some areas, and winds of up to 50 mph took out power lines. Scores of motorists also ended up stranded overnight when their cars got stuck in the heavy show.
South Shore Line trains are set to resume service after service was suspended between Chicago and northwest Indiana Thursday morning because of a power outage.
On the afternoon of Feb. 1, 2011, snow began began falling with a ferocity rarely seen in Chicago.
Starting nearly 50 years ago today, Chicago endured the worst blizzard in its history, watching as 23 inches of snow blanketed the city and suburbs, bringing the area to a virtual standstill.
From the coldest February in 140 years to the strongest tornado in 25 years, the Chicago area has seen its fair share of historic weather events this year.
Sidewalks around 51st and Karlov remain encrusted with ice and snow, forcing pedestrians to use the street. CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports.
The 2026 Chicago Auto Show kicks off at McCormick Place on Saturday.
A man was shot in the leg inside a home on Chicago's West Side early Saturday morning.
Chicago helped shape the nation in so many ways, including the pioneering of skyscrapers – the big, beautiful buildings the city of big shoulders introduced to the world.
A Chicago bus driver is out of a job after he was caught on camera with his hands off the wheel and his eyes glued to his cell phone.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
The footage is included in a video that promotes false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Mr. Trump.
The FBI has arrested "one of the key participants" behind the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 that killed four Americans.
A new push to pass a GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act is underway in Congress, but Democrats warn the proposal could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.
As immigration sweeps expand nationwide, the work of justifying detentions is overwhelming federal prosecutors, who are being forced to sideline a range of other cases in order to keep pace.
Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in October, plans to attend President Trump's State of the Union address to Congress later this month, according to her attorney.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
A Near West Side diner known for drawing in Blackhawks fans and players is up for sale.
January may be the coldest time of the year, but Chicago is already looking forward to summer farmers' markets.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
United Airlines flight attendants picketed outside Chicago's Willis Tower Thursday morning as they fought for a new contract.
WSCR-AM, 670 The Score, will begin a simulcast on 104.3 FM next month.
Gamers across the world can now recreate drone strikes in Ukraine from the comfort of their own home, with this newly released game.
The members of Ratboys were teenagers when they met by chance, and now in their 30s, the Chicago band formed by two college friends almost two decades ago appears to be on the brink of something big.
Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early '70s has died. He was 83.
Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech on Sunday to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and call for the end of the ongoing immigration crackdown.
The 2026 Grammy Awards recognized the best of the best in music from last year, with big wins for Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny. Here's the full list of winners and nominees.
The 2026 Chicago Auto Show kicks off Saturday with over 700 cars on display. You can even get registered for your Real ID.
The FBI is investigating a new message related to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist has the extended forecast.
Meet 6-moth-old Baloo, he is looking for his forever home. Adopt him today at PAWS Chicago.
Meteorologist David Yeomans has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
The 2026 Chicago Auto Show kicks off at McCormick Place on Saturday.
A man was shot in the leg inside a home on Chicago's West Side early Saturday morning.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
An eagle-eyed drone pilot helped spot a missing foster puppy who had been out in the cold for more than two weeks in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
A source close to the investigation said the woman worked for the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
Fewer Chicago kids are getting the dental care they need, and some dentists are blaming Chicago Public Schools.
Cynthia Eason recounted the moment Chicago police officers raided her family's home in 2018.
Water bills could be going up in several Chicago suburbs and other parts of Illinois, as Illinois American Water seeks a rate increase to fund infrastructure improvements.
The case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said that Chicago police officers pointed guns at them during the botched raid.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel no longer will have to testify about an alleged "code of silence" at the Chicago Police Department, after a federal judge reversed an earlier ruling that would have allowed him to take the stand in a lawsuit over a botched police raid.
More than 35 local, state and federal agencies have been working for the last 18 months to prepare for Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California.
Two west suburban high schools have something extra to celebrate Sunday, when alumni from their schools make their Super Bowl debuts.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are underway after the lighting of the Olympic cauldrons and the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony.
Caleb Williams certainly had plenty of big throws to celebrate in 2025, but it wasn't hard to pick his most memorable one after he launched a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore to beat the Packers in overtime in Week 16.
Brandon Ingram scored 33 points, Immanuel Quickley had 24 and the Toronto Raptors beat the new-look Chicago Bulls 123-107.
Local and federal authorities said "investigators are actively inspecting the information provided in the message for its authenticity" regarding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
A South Side community came together on Friday, hoping for justice after a woman was shot and killed while her baby was in the back seat of their car earlier this week.
A Chicago city employee was found shot to death Friday morning inside an apartment in the West Ridge neighborhood.
Actor Timothy Busfield has been indicted on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, officials said Friday.
A burglary crew smashed into a restaurant in Chicago's southwest suburbs, leaving the owner cleaning up a big and frustrating mess.