5 Worst Blizzards in Chicago-Area History (with Awesome 1967 Newsreel Footage)

Every blizzard conjures up memories of blizzards past. The one burying the East Coast this weekend has spared northern Illinois, mercifully. Naturally, however, we wonder how this storm compares to the Chicago area’s worst.

So far, as much as 3 feet of snow has fallen in some states. The snow is dropping at a rate of 3 inches an hour. Twelve people are reported dead as a result of this blizzard, and 10 states are under state-of-emergency declarations.

And the storm’s wrath is far from over.

Here are the 5 biggest storms to hit Chicago.

23 inches | Jan. 26-Jan. 27, 1967

This crippling storm left 50,000 cars and 800 buses stranded on local streets. The airports were closed as 10-foot snowdrifts piled on the runways. People were stuck in their offices and schools. In the south suburbs, hundreds of kids camped out at school overnight because the buses couldn’t get them home. Helicopters brought in relief supplies. But 26 people also died, including a man run over by a snowplow and a 10-year-old girl shot in the crossfire between looters and police. Across the Midwest, 68 people were killed by the storm, many by show-shoveling induced heart attacks.

21.6 inches | Jan. 1-Jan 3, 1999

President Clinton declared half the state of Illinois a disaster area. Temperatures reached 20 below. Seventy-three people in the Midwest died in this storm, which hit Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. The airports were closed for several days, and roads were impassable.

21.2 inches | Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2011

This storm system stretched from Texas to Canada and was preceded by an ice storm. Called the “Groundhog Day Blizzard,” the city of Chicago closed Lake Shore Drive because of the snow, stranding 900 cars and buses. Winds reached 35 miles per hour (tornadoes were reported in the South during the storm). This snowstorm also featured thunder and lightning. Eleven people in northern Illinois died because of the storm, including a pedestrian along Lake Shore Drive who was blown into Lake Michigan by the high winds.

A scene from the Blizzard of 2011 on Belden Avenue in Chicago | via Wikimedia

20.3 inches | Jan. 12-Jan. 14, 1979

Snow piled up to 29 inches in some places by the end of the day on Jan. 14. This is the storm that cost a mayor his job and paved the way for Chicago’s first woman mayor. Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic couldn’t get the plows out fast enough, and he ticked off African-American residents by ordering CTA trains to skip South Side stops. Jane Byrne replaced him. Five people died as a result of the storm, including a man who was killed by an out-of-control snow plow that hit 34 cars. O’Hare Airport was closed until Jan. 15.

19.3 inches | Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2015

Hey, this was just one year ago. On Feb. 1, 16 inches of snow fell, a record for a single-day Chicago snowfall in February. We handled this storm better than most. No travel bans were in effect, and people didn’t loot stores or shoot each other. Metra kept running, with delays of less than an hour. Mostly, we watched the Super Bowl and the snow fall.

Catch Up on Blizzard News

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• Deaths, Tens of Thousands Lose Power, Major Flooding

• 11 Most Damaging and Costly Winter Storms Since 1980

• 700 Illinois ComEd Workers Head Toward East Coast Blizzard