Who remembers Chicago IL in 1967? This is the year after I was born. I would love your comments as we are in the
Blizzard of 2-2-2011!
The Tally and the Record Book
By the time the series of storms had ended, the 1967 snowstorm likely caused the biggest disruption in the City of Chicago since the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Sixty deaths were attributed to the storm, a large portion from heart attacks while shovelling snow. One clergyman was run over by a snowplow, and a ten-year-old girl had died in the crossfire shooting between police and looters.
The economic losses came to $150 million, about $904 million in 2006 dollars. The cost of snow removal alone for Chicago tallied $8-10 million ($48.2-69.2 million).
The weather records set for the city include:
- Greatest snowfall in a calendar day - 16.4 inches (41.7 cm) on 26 January 1967 (this was surpassed when 18.6 inches (47.2 cm) fell on 2 January 1999)
- Greatest snowfall in a 24 hour period - 19.8 inches (50.3 cm) 26-27 January 1967
- Greatest snowfall from a storm - 23.0 inches (58.4 cm) 26-27 January 1967
- Greatest snow depth - Additional snows brought the snow depth to 27 inches (68.6 cm) by 6 February 1967. (This was surpassed when 29 inches (73.7 cm) covered the ground 14 January 1979.)
- Greatest snowfall for a season - The winter of 1966-1967 set the record for Chicago with a total of 68.4 inches (173.7 cm). (The record was surpassed in the winters of 1969-1970, 1977-1978, and 1978-1979.)
- A total of 36.5 inches (92.7 cm) of snow fell on the city during the 11 day period from 26 January through 5 February 1967, which is close to the normal snowfall for an entire season! Snow covered the ground until 10 March.
Officially, the 1967 snowstorm was the greatest on record for Chicago since official records began in 1870, and no account of any greater snowfall previous to 1870 in unofficial records back to 1859 has been found. The only possible competition might have come during Illinois’ Winter of the Deep Snow in 1830-1831 when Chicago was still Fort Dearborn.
Learn More About Weather From These Relevant Books
Chosen by The Weather Doctor
- Heidorn, Keith C.:And Now…The Weather, 2005, Fifth House, ISBN 1894856651
- Burt, Christopher C.: Extreme Weather: A Guide and Record Book, 2004 (pb), W. W. Norton & Company, ISBN 039333015X.
Written by
Keith C. Heidorn, PhD, THE WEATHER DOCTOR,
January 19, 2007
Weather Maps and photographs courtesy of National Weather Service (Chicago, IL Weather Forecast Office) NOAA, US Dept of Commerce. To view high resolution images of the weather maps, including 500 mb chart, go to: http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/dwm/data_rescue_daily_weather_maps.html
The Great Chicago Snow of 1967 ©2007, Keith C. Heidorn, PhD. All Rights Reserved.
Correspondence may be sent via email to: see@islandnet.com.
For More Weather Doctor articles, go to our Site Map.
Pasted from <http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/events/chisnow1967.htm>
Chicago, IL Weather Advisories, Watches & Warnings
in effect until Wednesday, Feb 2, 3:00 PM
…BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM CST /4 PM EST/ WEDNESDAY…
A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM CST /4 PM EST/ WEDNESDAY.
* TIMING…ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS WEDNESDAY. SCATTERED LAKE EFFECT SNOW SHOWERS ARE LIKELY TO LINGER OVER NORTHEAST ILLINOIS WEDNESDAY MORNING BEFORE MOVING INTO NORTHWEST INDIANA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.
* ACCUMULATIONS…SNOW WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES WITH ACCUMULATION RATES REACHING OR EXCEEDING 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR. STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 10 TO 16 INCHES IS LIKELY TOWARD ROCKFORD AND DIXON. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL TOTALS ARE LIKELY DOWNWIND OF LAKE MICHIGAN IN THE CHICAGO METROPOLITAN AREA AND INTO NORTHWEST INDIANA WHERE 12 TO 20 INCHES OF SNOW IS LIKELY… WITH POSSIBLE LOCALIZED TOTALS UP TO TWO FEET.
* WINDS…NORTHEAST WINDS FROM 25 TO 35 MPH…WITH WIND GUSTS OF 45 TO 55 MPH. EVEN STRONGER WINDS ARE LIKELY NEAR THE IMMEDIATE LAKE MICHIGAN LAKE SHORE WITH SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH AND GUSTS OCCASIONALLY OVER 60 MPH.
* BLIZZARD CONDITIONS…STRONG WINDS COMBINED WITH SEVERE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL RESULT IN TRUE WHITE OUT CONDITIONS…PARTICULARLY IN OPEN AREAS.
* THUNDERSTORMS…ISOLATED SNOW-PRODUCING THUNDERSTORMS MAY RESULT IN LOCALIZED INTENSE SNOWFALL RATES. IT IS NOT UNCOMMON FOR SNOWFALL RATES TO EXCEED 4 INCHES PER HOUR IN THUNDER SNOW MAKING TRAVEL NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. IN ADDITION…SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN PRODUCING AND COULD STILL PRODUCE SOME SMALL HAIL.
* TRAVEL…ROAD CONDITIONS WILL BE TREACHEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY…AND EVEN THEN REALIZE THAT DRIVING IN A BLIZZARD IS PUTTING YOUR LIFE AT RISK. VISIBILITIES ARE SO POOR IN OPEN AREAS THAT MOTORISTS COULD BECOME DISORIENTED AND UNABLE TO EVEN SEE BEYOND THE HOOD OF THEIR CARS.
* POWER OUTAGES…STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO RESULT IN NUMEROUS POWER OUTAGES. IN ADDITION…THE ADVERSE CONDITIONS COULD MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO RESTORE POWER.
* OTHER IMPACTS…THE DEEP SNOW ACCUMULATION WILL MAKE SHOVELING VERY DIFFICULT…AND POTENTIALLY DEADLY. DURING AND IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE BLIZZARD OF 1999 OVER 40 PEOPLE IN THE CHICAGO AREA ALONE LOST THEIR LIVES TO HEART ATTACKS WHILE SHOVELING THE HEAVY SNOWFALL. TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS INDOORS AND DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE TASK AT HAND WHEN SHOVELING.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT CONDITIONS…MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL! IF YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST TRAVEL…HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED…STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.
&&
