On Today's Date: Blizzard Conditions, Heaviest Snowstorm On Record Shuts Down Chicago

Yahoo

27-01-2025

A Midwest blizzard that delivered Chicago's heaviest snowstorm on record was wrapping up on this day in 1967, leaving thousands of motorists stranded.
The Blizzard of 1967 dropped 23 inches of snow on the Windy City Jan. 26-27. That's just ahead of snow totals produced by major blizzards that struck Chicago in 1999 (21.6 inches), 2011 (21.2 inches) and 1979 (20.3 inches).
Worsening the conditions were wind gusts of 50 mph, resulting in widespread 4 to 6 foot drifts in the Chicago area.
Snow began in Chicago on the morning of Jan. 26 and quickly piled up to eight inches by noon. Those trying to commute in the afternoon encountered a nightmare in which some did not make it home, while others stayed at work or in hotels, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
By Jan. 27, Chicago was shut down with 20,000 cars and 1,100 buses stranded, the NWS said. Helicopters were used to provide supplies to hospitals and stranded motorists. Snow removal equipment was brought in from neighboring states, however the thousands of stranded cars hampered the removal efforts.
The storm was blamed for 60 deaths in Chicago metro area, according to the Chicago History Museum.
Surrounding portions of the Midwest, from Missouri and Kansas to southeastern Iowa, northern Indiana and lower Michigan were also hard hit by the winter storm.
Just two days prior to the blizzard, temperatures hit the mid 60s in Chicago, which helped to fuel severe thunderstorms that caused wind damage and spawned reported funnel clouds.
The severe weather that occurred ahead of this blizzard is the same bout featured in our Jan. 24 On Today's Date column that helped produce an F4 tornado in the St. Louis metro area
Chris Dolce has been a senior meteorologist with weather.com for over 10 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.