Major Winter Storm to Hit Chicago on Anniversary of One of Its Worst Blizzards on Record

 Jonathan Erdman

Published: January 30, 2021

Cars were stranded on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago on Feb. 2, 2011, after the Groundhog Blizzard.

Chicago will dig out from a snowstorm this weekend, but it won't be anything like the crippling blizzard it endured almost 10 years ago to the day.

In early February 2011, Chicagoland was pummeled by one of its heaviest snowstorms. The Groundhog Blizzard dumped 21.2 inches of snow at Chicago's O'Hare Airport Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2011.

It was the city's third heaviest snowstorm, trailing only the January 1967 storm (23 inches over two days) and the New Year's 1999 storm (21.6 inches over three days).

The Groundhog Blizzard did set the city's all-time 24-hour snowfall record, as 20 inches of snow buried O'Hare from the afternoon of Feb. 1 through the morning of Groundhog Day, Feb. 2. That's over half of the city's average annual snowfall of 36 inches in just 24 hours.

Visible satellite image of the Groundhog Blizzard on Feb. 1, 2011.

The storm produced occasional lightning, and 50 to 70 mph wind gusts reduced visibility to less than one-quarter mile for 11 straight hours at O'Hare and to near zero at Midway Airport on Feb. 1, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

About 1,300 flights were canceled at both O'Hare and Midway before the storm.

High winds tore off part of a roof panel from Wrigley Field and closed sidewalks and nearby streets, according to the Midwest Regional Climate Center.

The NWS said the Groundhog 2011 Blizzard was only the second Chicago snowstorm in modern records to be considered a true blizzard, based on criteria of sustained winds or frequent gusts and severely-reduced visibility. The January 1967 storm was the other.

Drifts of 2 to 5 feet were common, with some exceeding 10 feet, which made it challenging for some residents to even leave their homes. Drivers abandoned their vehicles on Lake Shore Drive in one of the most iconic winter storm scenes in recent years.

However, the NWS office in Chicago said a good forecast issued well in advance cut the number of stranded motorists significantly compared to the January 1967 blizzard.

Despite that, 11 people in Illinois died in the storm.

A Rare Category 5 Winter Storm

This wasn't just a Chicago snowstorm.

Blizzard warnings were issued for eight states, from Oklahoma to Lower Michigan, where over 10 inches of snow blanketed the ground.

A map showing snowfall accumulations during the Groundhog Blizzard of 2011.

States of emergency were declared in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

It was the heaviest one (13.2 inches) and two-day (14 inches) snowfalls on record in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A foot of snow fell in Oklahoma City and closed Will Rogers World Airport for 20 hours. Parts of the Sooner State picked up 20 inches of snow.

In southeast Wisconsin, vehicles were stranded on Interstates 43 and 94 south of Milwaukee.

The Groundhog 2011 Blizzard was one of only four other storms in the Ohio Valley region since 1900 to be categorized by NOAA as a Category 5 winter storm, the strongest category on the Regional Snowfall Index scale.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.