1967 Chicago blizzard

Snowstorm in the Midwest United States May 2025 February 2025 November 2025 1967+GM10007 (4155561365).jpg Snow to height of front yard fence, covering sidewalk and parkway trees Sidewalks filled with snow 1967 01 26 1967 01 27 18.13 23 in cm 997 mb (hPa) 53 mph km/h+kn 3 86 total deaths (26 deaths in Chicago, 60 in region) $150 million (1967 dollars); all transportation stopped Northeastern Illinois, Northwestern Indiana The Chicago blizzard of 1967 struck northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana on January 26–27, 1967, with a record-setting 23 in cm snow fall in Chicago and its suburbs before the storm abated the next morning. 2026, it remains the greatest snowfall in one storm in Chicago history.http://wgntv.com/2017/01/15/how-many-consecutive-hours-did-it-snow-during-the-big-snow-of-1967-wasnt-it-mild-and-stormy-before-the-snow/ How many consecutive hours did it snow during the Big Snow of 1967?? Wasn't it mild and stormy before the snow? Skilling Tom WGN TV January 15, 2017 January 25, 2017 January 18, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170118211105/http://wgntv.com/2017/01/15/how-many-consecutive-hours-did-it-snow-during-the-big-snow-of-1967-wasnt-it-mild-and-stormy-before-the-snow/ dead http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-chicago-blizzard-1967-20170125-story.html Looking back on the Blizzard of 1967 Moreno Nerelda January 25, 2017 January 25, 2017 Chicago Tribune As the blizzard was a surprise during the day with people already at work or school, it stopped the city for a few days as people dug out. "The storm was a full-blown blizzard, with 50 mph-plus northeast wind gusts creating drifts as high as 15 feet." Chronology thumb|left|Weather map at midnight on January 27, 1967. On Tuesday January 24, the maximum temperature was 65 F but began to fall the next day with the passage of a marked cold front.en https://www.weather.gov/lot/67blizzard 50th Anniversary of the 1967 Blizzard - Largest Snowfall in Chicago on Record Jim Allsopp Richard Castro 2017 National Weather Service June 26, 2020 In fact, the front brought arctic air from a strong 1032 mb high pressure center over the southern Canadian Prairies. By the morning of January 25, the mercury had dropped to 31 degrees F. On the other hand, an upper-level baroclinic trough, coming from the Rockies, developed a low pressure system at the surface near the Texas Panhandle. At midnight Thursday, January 26, the low moved to Oklahoma while strengthening. During the day, the elevated trough and surface low crossed the Mississippi Valley, reaching South-central Indiana before midnight on January 27 and deepening to 997 mb. Dew points of 50 to 60 F, or more, in the warm sector of the surface low brought significant humidity from the Gulf of Mexico while the high pressure moved to the Lake Superior, keeping cold and dry air over the Great Lakes. The strong pressure gradient between the latter and the low pressure center caused strong winds over Lake Michigan, causing widespread blowing snow while heavy snowfall affected the Chicago area. On January 27, the low occluded. Its central pressure reached 990 mb while passing over Lake Erie and Southern Ontario, Canada. Snow stopped in the evening in Chicago and strong winds moved north-northwest out of the region. Forecast The weather forecast on January 25 for the 26th was for rain or snow because the cold front was forecast to stall in the Chicago area. On the evening broadcast, the National Weather Service started talking about snow mixed with freezing rain, but it was not until the night that the forecast was changed to mention snowfall, giving an accumulation of 4 inches. A heavy snow warning was therefore issued. On the morning of January 26, the quantities were increased by 4 to 8 inches, well below what would be received. People were not aware of the extent of the storm and that the snow would stop travel within and from the area, as noted in the understated opening to the evening news on television station WMAQ-TV on January 26, 1967, where the newsman reported that the worst of the storm was over, which was incorrect. Depth of snow and effects on transportation thumb|People stranded with their cars in Chicago Blizzard of 1967 thumb|right|Snowbank of blizzard The snow fell continuously in Chicago and surrounding areas from 5:02 am on Thursday, January 26 until 10:10 am Friday when 23 in cm had fallen. The storm played havoc with travel home from work and school. "Thousands were stranded in offices, in schools, in buses. About 50,000 abandoned cars and 800 Chicago Transit Authority buses littered the streets and expressways." Other sources estimate 20,000 cars and 1,100 buses stranded in the blizzard. Gusts of 48 to 53 miles per hour (measured at Midway Airport) caused large snowdrifts to accumulate. Thunderstorms occurred and several funnel clouds were sighted during the blizzard. The blizzard closed both Midway Airport and O'Hare Airport. Ten-foot drifts covered the runways at Midway. Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley ordered city workers to clear city streets around the clock and asked citizens for help.http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/chi-chicagodays-1967blizzard-story-story.html Chicago Tribune The Chicago Blizzard of 1967 Johnson Allan February 1, 2015 January 25, 2017 On Friday, the city was virtually shut down and area schools were closed.Big snow flashback--the blizzard of 1967 http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-weather-watch/2014/01/big-snow-flashback-the-blizzard-of-1967/ Chicago Now: Chicago Weather Watch January 22, 2014 Weather Girl January 25, 2017 February 2, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170202025538/http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-weather-watch/2014/01/big-snow-flashback-the-blizzard-of-1967/ dead Chicago's fleet of 500 snow plows and 2,500 workers was out in force, and additional snow removal equipment was sent from Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. Many of the south suburbs of Chicago reported that their snow plowing equipment failed during the blizzard, and recommended people stay home on Friday, as recorded in a collection of local radio news reports from the first day of the blizzard.https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160125/downtown/chicago-blizzard-of-1967-when-record-23-inches-of-snow-pounded-city Chicago Blizzard of 1967: When Record 23 Inches of Snow Pounded The City Breen Justin January 25, 2016 January 25, 2017 DNA Info Chicago dead https://web.archive.org/web/20170130164450/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160125/downtown/chicago-blizzard-of-1967-when-record-23-inches-of-snow-pounded-city 30 January 2017 Although the city was on the move again by Tuesday, it took the city of Chicago three weeks to plow all the streets of snow, as it did not warm up enough for the snow to melt away. In 2017 as the 50th anniversary of the blizzard neared, people looked back on their own stories of the first day, how long it took some to get home, up to six hours for a usual half hour trip, and how some did not get home for one to two days, staying in their car, in a local tavern. One woman decided to walk home from her downtown job, and she said, "People were helping each other — it was wonderful. People were stopping in cars that could get through, and they would take you a certain distance," she said. "Back then, you could trust people to take you where you wanted to go. You never thought twice about getting in and letting them give you a ride home." Some sources consider this blizzard to have been "paralyzing" to the city, and the greatest disruption in the city since the Chicago Fire of 1871. Plowing was rendered ineffective as the snow fell because the blizzard winds blew the snow back on the freshly plowed roads, stranding vehicles on expressways and arterial streets alike. The storm affected the metropolitan Chicago area, with the heaviest snow falling from the west side extending east to northwest Indiana, as far as LaPorte.http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/weather/ct-wea-0129-asktom-20160128-column.html Ask Tom: How did snowfall totals vary by area in 1967 blizzard? Skilling Tom Chicago Tribune January 28, 2016 May 4, 2018 Rockford, northwest of Chicago, had a few inches of snow, while far southeastern Wisconsin (Lake Geneva down to Kenosha) registered 6-10 inches of snow. After the blizzard stopped thumb|Children playing in the snow after the 1967 blizzard After the winds stopped blowing, snow removal could be effective, slowly. Helicopters were the emergency vehicles, delivering medicine to diabetics, and food to people stranded in their cars. Expectant mothers were taken to hospitals by sleds, snow plow or even a bulldozer. Women who could not get out delivered their babies at home. The airports opened about midnight Monday after the snow stopped falling. Most schools reopened on Tuesday following the blizzard. People who were school age in the blizzard recall the beauty of the snow-covered city and the fun they had in the snow when school was closed. Deaths Twenty-six people died in Chicago due to the blizzard, including a young girl shot in crossfire between looters and police. Some died from heart attacks due to shoveling the snow. More snowfall on February 1, 1967 The Chicago area started to recover from the extreme snowfall over the weekend, then it snowed 4 in cm 1 on Wednesday, February 1.http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/events/chisnow1967.htm The Great Chicago Snow of 1967 Heidorn Keith The Weather Doctor January 19, 2007 January 25, 2017 The following Sunday, February 5, another storm dumped 8.5 in cm 1 of snow. Record snowfall for a single storm The 23 in cm 1 inches of snow that fell on Chicago for 29 hours from the morning of January 26, 1967 is a record for a single storm.https://wgntv.com/2019/03/22/the-bad-snowstorm-on-march-25-26-1930 Skilling Tom The bad snowstorm on March 25-26, 1930 March 22, 2019 March 27, 2019 WGN TV and Chicago Tribune The 19.8 in cm 1 that fell on January 26–27 was the greatest amount of snow for a 24-hour period, later surpassed by Groundhog Day Blizzard of 2011 with 20.0 in cm 1 February 1–2, 2011. The single day record of 16.4 in cm 1 for January 26http://www.weather.gov/lot/67blizzard A Look Back at the January 1967 Big Snow: The January, 1967 Blizzard Allsopp Jim Castro Richard National Weather Service NOAA January 25, 2017 was later broken by the Chicago Blizzard of 1979 when 16.5 in cm 1 fell. Between January 26 and February 5, 36.5 in cm 1 of snow fell, which is typical for an entire Chicago winter. This helped contribute to the 1966-67 winter setting a record seasonal snowfall of 68.4 in cm 1 for Chicago, breaking the previous record of 66.4 in cm 1, set in 1951–52. This record would be surpassed just three seasons later, when the 1969-70 winter dropped 77.0 in cm 1 of snow on the city. Since 1970, the city has surpassed the 1966-67 snowfall total three additional times: 82.3 in cm 1 in 1977–78, 89.7 in cm 1 in 1978–79, and 82.0 in cm 1 in 2013–14.Chicago, IL Seasonal Snowfall Amounts from 1884 to present! https://www.weather.gov/lot/Chicago_seasonal_snow National Weather Service - Chicago, Illinois 9 April 2018 In 2011, when another snowstorm was in progress, the ten worst snowstorms in Chicago to that date were noted, the list topped by the January 1967 storm.Chicago Blizzard May Be One For Record Books http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/01/30/blizzard-may-bring-18-inches-of-snow-to-city/ CBS Chicago February 2, 2011 January 30, 2011 Later snowstorms did not halt city activity to the same extent, in part because improved weather forecasting allowed businesses to close early when heavy snow was expected. The city also implemented more structured snow-removal plans, including winter restrictions on overnight parking on main streets. Sensors and cameras are in place to see where snow removal is most needed, and the fleet of snow plows is smaller to do the same work, at 330. Disposal of the snow Disposing of the snow collected by plows posed challenges on account of the drifting and the quantity of snow and so many roads blocked by abandoned vehicles. Some was put on a train in refrigerated cars to Florida so children there could see what snow looked like.https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/that-time-chicago-sent-a-trainload-of-snow-to-florida/c73bef3d-87a8-4a5b-a452-6e85d4b19573 That Time Chicago Sent a Trainload of Snow to Florida WBEZ Curious City Chicago Jaffe Logan January 15, 2016 26 January 2017 Other railroads disposed of snow on their own property by melting it, or if they had freight trains heading south, loaded a few cars with snow that would melt en route.http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1967/02/11/page/37/article/hundreds-of-freight-cars-used Chicago Snow Is Shipped to Dixie, Hundreds of Freight Cars Used February 11, 1967 Chicago Tribune 26 January 2017 The city of Chicago resorted to dumping it in the Chicago River, a practice no longer used, for bad effects on river water quality; instead it has designated locations throughout the city for dumping excess accumulations.http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/where-chicago-hides-its-snow Where Chicago Hides Its Snow Laskow Sarah Atlas Obscura January 25, 2017 March 1, 2016https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160301/woodlawn/what-happens-all-snow-after-big-storm-map What Happens To All The Snow After a Big Storm? [MAP] Ali Tanveer DNA Info Chicago March 1, 2016 January 25, 2017 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20170202072059/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160301/woodlawn/what-happens-all-snow-after-big-storm-map February 2, 2017 The city also had a few vehicles that melted the snow in the truck, greatly reducing its volume. Photos of the city in the blizzard Several roofs collapsed and vehicles were immobilized by snow, while some residents used snowshoes to travel on January 27, 1967. In 2013, the Chicago Tribune compiled photographs from the period to document the event.http://galleries.apps.chicagotribune.com/chi-110131-snowstorm-1967-pictures/ The blizzard of '67 January 8, 2013 January 25, 2017 Chicago Tribune References 1967-1 Category:Meteorological events in 1967 Category:1967 natural disasters in the United States Category:1960s in Chicago Category:Natural disasters in Illinois Category:Natural disasters in Indiana Category:1967 in Illinois Category:1967 in Indiana Category:January 1967 in the United States