In the end, the great Blizzard of 2011
didn’t set a record — but still dumped 20.2 inches on the city, shut
down schools, closed businesses and even major shopping malls, knocked
out power to hundreds of thousands and left hundreds stranded on Lake
Shore Drive.
The total snowfall made it the third
worst snowstorm on record, behind only blizzards in 1967 — when 23
inches blanketed the city — and 1999 — when 21.6 inches fell.
“We are experiencing a storm of historic proportions . . . the likes of
which we really haven’t seen in 20 or 30 years,” said Ray Orozco, Mayor
Daley’s chief of staff.
Orozco blamed a series of accidents on the Drive between 7 p.m. and 8
p.m., coupled with “white-out” conditions and wind gusts of up to 70
mph. One of the accidents was with a CTA bus, helping to cripple the
roadway and bring traffic to a halt that never restarted.
Cars surrounded by snow in the South Shore area Wednesday morning. | Brian Jackson
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