An Historic Blizzaster

Our street on Wednesday afternoon.

I had my first snow day since junior high yesterday. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty awesome. I was stuck in my apartment with two roommates, Mr. Fidler and my cat. Luckily we had a fridge full of food and tasty beverages and no problems with power or heat, so it was basically a mid-week Saturday during which we had zero obligations or responsibilities as a result of being physically incapable of leaving the apartment. I know, tough times. We did venture out into the snow a bit:

Twenty inches of snow, and no plowing on the side streets. Sucks to be you.

Brittan leads the way to find her car.

We got 20.2 inches of snow, making this the third-largest snowstorm in the city's history. The last time we had this much snow was in 1999, with 21.6 inches. (The biggest ever storm was in '67 and dumped 23.0 inches.) Chicago Public Schools (CPS), which haven't closed since that '99 blizzard, have closed for two days straight and will likely be closed again tomorrow, making this a 5-day weekend. (Great for students, sucks for parents.) Northwestern canceled a full day of classes for only the fifth time in its 160-year history.

An abandoned cab in the middle of W. Dakin St.

Valiant effort, Mr. Cabby.

What amazes me, and what we were talking about as we wandered the post-apocalyptic scene (can you believe that cab?), was how a natural disaster like this has the capability of shutting down an entire city, but not actually injuring anyone. It wasn't just the snow -- there were 25-foot waves slamming into lakeshore and 70-mph winds blowing it all around. Some people spent the night in their cars, and hundreds of vehicles were stuck on Lake Shore Drive.

Under the el track just south of the Sheridan stop.

But for the most part the mood yesterday was jovial. There were dozens of people on the streets, walking around taking pictures and jumping in the snow. It was an historic day, and we all got to enjoy it together. We even saw one group sitting outside, in the middle of the impassable road, grilling and drinking beer. Hopefully the number of people adversely affected (lost wages, childcare, etc.) is minor compared to people that got to act like 12-year-olds for the day. Though I'd wager a good number of shoulders are sore today from digging out cars and front steps from under the 20+-inch thick snow blanket.

To top it all off, we got to experience THUNDERSNOW. Epic. Who wants to make bets on the birth rate spiking in about nine months?

Oh yeah, and we did eventually find Brittan's car. Hopefully she doesn't need it anytime soon. Like, you know, before spring.