Potentially historic blizzard in Chicago met with flurry of emotions
The blizzard of January 1967 was the worst snowstorm in Chicago history, and with the forecast calling for another blizzard, it has some holiday travelers flustered, while others are anxiously awaiting for the snow to arrive.
A powerful snowstorm moving across the northern U.S. just before Christmas has the potential to evolve into an all-out blizzard over Chicago, possibly rivaling the city’s historic 1967 blizzard.
A powerful snowstorm could grind holiday travel to a halt in the coming days, and in Chicago, it has the potential to evolve into an all-out blizzard that is expected to become one of the worst in recent memory for the Windy City, even if snowfall totals end up well short of giant snowstorms of the past.
The January 1967 blizzard is regarded as the worst snowstorm on record in Chicago. A whopping 23 inches of snow fell from Jan. 26-27, breaking the previous snow record for the city of 19 inches on March 25-26, 1930, according to data compiled by the National Weather Service (NWS).
During the event, snow fell at a rate of 2 inches per hour at times with wind gusts to 53 mph at Midway Airport, located 8 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. The wind-swept snow led to drifts as high as 6 feet. The storm brought the typically bustling city to a standstill as 20,000 cars and more than 1,000 buses were stranded in the snow, and 60 people tragically lost their lives.
Blizzard, January 1967, cars covered with snow, view of Rosemont looking east from California. (Photo by Howard B Anderson/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images)
The weather leading up to the January 1967 blizzard was quite different from the conditions that Chicagoans will experience this week ahead of the massive pre-Christmas storm.
Two days before the heavy snowstorm in 1967, the city experienced a record high temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit. At night, the mild weather persisted when the mercury failed to drop past 44. Severe weather occurred during the evening of Jan. 24 with wind damage and funnel clouds reported.
Into the latter part of this week, a much different story is unfolding in Chicago ahead of what AccuWeather meteorologists say could be a blockbuster storm for the Midwest. High temperatures will be in the 20s and 30s F through Thursday before the bottom drops out on thermometers at the end of the week as blizzard conditions ensue. Typically, late December features high temperatures in the mid-30s and overnight lows in the lower 20s in Chicago.
The worst of the storm is expected Thursday night through Friday with whiteouts, blustery winds and AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures between 20 and 40 degrees below zero.
Many residents and travelers took to social media to air their grievances about the impending storm. "A snowstorm hitting Chicago the same night as my flight to Vegas," Twitter user colynelliott said. "i [sic] hope Mother Nature knows how to fight cause if my flight gets cancelled…"
However, some folks were elated at the prospect of a blizzard.
"So this is happening in a couple [of] days. Not just a winter storm, an actual blizzard," Jeffrey Howard tweeted from Chicago on Tuesday. "My last blizzard was the Chicago Snowpocalypse of 2011. I’m long overdue! Actually excited for this one!"
Twitter user OceansideJ, who is a Chicago resident, tweeted about "stocking up on as much wine as possible" ahead of the storm.
Others said what most warm-weather lovers were thinking, including Carrie Johnson, who tweeted: "A blizzard is expected to hit Chicago Thursday so, of course, my mind is turning to sunny vacation spots in 2023."
The last time a blizzard warning was issued by the NWS Chicago office was in November 2018. The office typically issues up to one such warning per year.
In terms of single-day snowfall totals, a storm on Jan. 2, 1999, holds the high mark with 18.6 inches recorded on that day. The single-day snow total record for the month is 11.3 inches, which was measured on Dec. 12, 1903.
AccuWeather meteorologists say that while the heaviest snow is likely to fall well to the east in Michigan and northern Indiana, where more than a foot is likely, this storm alone could come close to the normal amount that Chicago receives during the entire month of December of 7.6 inches. The most snow the city ever recorded in December was 33.3 inches back in 1951.
Even if only a few inches of snowfall around the Chicago metro area due to a sweep of dry air from the west, dangerous and difficult travel conditions will be widespread in the region due to snow, severe cold and the vast winterscape in the wake of the massive and powerful storm.
The snowy weather anticipated leading up to this year's Christmas weekend is a stark contrast to what unfolded just a year ago. In 2021, Chicago shattered its record for the latest measurable snowfall at O'Hare Airport, located 16 miles northwest of downtown, as it took until Dec. 28 for the first accumulating snow to be observed. December 2021 ended with temperatures averaging 7.5 degrees above normal in the city.
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