Blizzard — Lake, Illinois

2011-02-01 to 2011-02-02 · Lake, Illinois

Event narrative

An 83 year old man from Libertyville died of a heart attack while shoveling snow on the morning of February 2nd. A 48 year old man was found dead in his car in Grayslake. His car was found still running. A 57 year old woman was found dead inside her vehicle in Lake Zurich on February 2nd. An autopsy showed she died from a heart attack and cold exposure occurred after she died.

Wider weather episode

A powerful and enormous winter storm moved across northern Illinois with blizzard conditions across much of the area which paralayzed the region. Light snow began falling across parts of northern Illinois during the moring hours of February 1st but the heavy snow associated with the main storm system spread north across central Illinois during the late morning hours of February 1st and then across northern Illinois by early afternoon. This snow quickly reduced visibilities to less than a mile and grew heavier by the evening rush hour, when several inches of snow had already accumulated. Winds also steadily increased during the afternoon hours with heavy snow and low visibilities creating blizzard conditions during the evening hours and lasting into the morning hours of February 2nd.

Thousands of motorists and their vehicles became stranded during the evening hours as conditions deteroiated and snow quickly accumulated. The National Guard was activated to assist stranded motorists traveling on interstates but large sections of interstates, including Interstate 80 and Interstate 39 were eventually closed. Many communities began assisting stranded motorists using plow trucks and many police officers began riding with plow truck drivers to repond to emergency calls because their cars were getting stuck in the snow. Many communities also had plow trucks escort ambulances and fire trucks. Other rescue personel used snowmobiles to respond to emergency calls.

On Lake Shore Drive in downtown Chicago, a bus became stuck in the snow, which caused traffic to quickly back up in the northbound lanes. As heavy snow continued to fall, combined with winds gusting as high as 55 mph, an estimated 1,000 vehicles became stuck in deep snow and deeper snow drifts. By mid evening, most of the motorists stuck on Lake Shore Drive needed to be rescued and evacuated by emergency personel. Over 200 motorists became stranded in Lake County with 30 cars stranded when a truck jackknifed near Route 45 and Illinois Highway 173. About 60 vehicles were stranded along a stretch of Route 47 in Kane County. Between 80 and 100 motorists were stranded along Busse Road in Elk Grove Village. Over 300 motorists needed assistance in Winnebago County, including 66 vehicles stuck in the snow. An additional 78 motorists needed assistance in Rockford, with 52 being stranded. Over 40 vehicles were found in ditches or left unoccupied in Boone County.

During the height of the storm from the evening of February 1st into the morning of February 2nd, many communities pulled their plow trucks off the roads out of concern for the safety of their drivers. Many communities declared roads closed to traffic with little hope of a rescue for anyone who ventured out into the blizzard and needed help. Whether roads were officially closed or not, most were impassible.

The high winds also blew down tree limbs and power lines causing numerous power outages. A building in Rochelle burned to the ground during the height of the blizzard but the cause was not known. The roof of a large indoor golf dome south of Frankfort was signficantly damaged by the heavy snow. A piece of the roof blew off of Wrigley Field. A portion of a garden center roof collapsed under the weight of heavy snow in Naperville. Part of the roof of a church collapsed on Washington Boulevard in Chicago. On Sunday February 13th, a 10 foot section of brickwork on the parapet along the roof of a building collapsed on Westmore Avenue in Lombard. Heavy snow and ice slid into the parapet and knocked it down.

Snowfall removal costs including overtime for drivers, independent or private snow removal, was in the millions of dollars, per county. Many communities were seeking reimbursement of some of their costs from FEMA. Mail delivery and garbage collection was postponed in many areas on February 2nd.

Some of the highest snowfall totals from the blizzard include 21.1 inches five miles northwest of McHenry; 20.9 inches three miles southwest of Chicago Midway Airport; 20.8 inches two miles north of Spring Grove; 20.6 inches six miles northwest of St. Charles; 20.0 inches at Chicago O'Hare Airport; 20.0 inches in Antioch; 20.0 inches one mile west of Beach Park; 20.0 inches one mile northwest of Ottawa; 20.0 inches six miles west northwest of Marseilles; 19.0 inches five miles west of Hoffman Estates; 19.0 inches in Park Forest; 18.0 inches in Elk Grove Village; 18.0 inches two miles north of Waukegan; 18.0 inches in Sheridan; 18.0 inches in Paw Paw; 17.9 inches in Naperville; 17.7 inches in Oak Brook; 17.5 inches in Lake Zurich; 17.3 inches in Alsip; 17.1 inches Genoa; 17.0 inches Barrington; 17.0 inches in Elburn; 17.0 inches Lisle; 17.0 inches in Homer Glen; 17.0 inches in Joliet; 16.5 inches five miles west of Watseka; 16.3 inches at the National Weather Service in Romeoville; 16.0 inches in Chatsworth; 16.0 inches in Dwight; 16.0 inches in Chicago Ridge; 15.7 inches in DeKalb; 15.3 inches in Hebron; 15.3 inches near Pontiac; 15.0 inches two miles east northeast of Geneva; 15.0 inches three miles north of Byron; 15.0 inches in Piper City and 14.0 inches at Rockford Airport.

Light snow fell across parts of northern Illinois on January 31st. Storm total amounts over the three day period from January 31st to February 2nd included 24.2 inches one and half miles west of Beach Park; 23.0 inches in Antioch; 21.7 inches three miles southwest of Chicago Midway Airport; 21.2 inches at Chicago O'Hare Airport; 17.1 inches at the National Weather Service office in Romeoville and 17.1 inches at Rockford Airport.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 281990. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.