Thursday, February 3, 2011

Snow days and Thundersnows - Blizzard '11

I'm standing in the middle of Michigan Ave.  
I knew the weathermen had warned us that a snow storm of 'life threatening' possibilities was heading our way. But the news tends to be like The Boy Who Cried Wolf.  Every year we have THE BIG ONE '09 or THIS IS IT '08 etc. but usually they turn out to be over-hyped and we get no more than a few inches. This time, the weathermen got it right. We got more than 20 inches!

On Tuesday I left work at 230p to beat the coming storm. So much for that. It took me an hour and 10 minutes of waiting outside in the cold just to find a way home.  I thought that was bad, until I got home and heard people were trapped on Lake Shore Drive, some for 6+ hours. Some people even ditched their cars.  People in Chicago are used to snow so to actually get a snow day, or in some cases, two consecutive snow days, you know it actually must be pretty bad.

It was strange to be home from work on a Wednesday. It was even more strange when there was lightning and thunder in the middle of a blizzard. Not currently residing in Chicago? You probably don't believe that can happen. You are probably saying, lightning while it is snowing? Thunder in winter?  Not possible. Well, I didn't believe it either until last night.  It is one crazy phenomenon.

Yesterday afternoon when I thought it had stopped snowing I decided to go out and take some pictures. Enjoy!


Here is a view down Michigan Ave - No Tourists, No Cars, Nobody! This is a first!

Here is a view down State Street - Again empty. 

 View from my apt. Usually you can see for miles.

 Someone must have said "Forget this! Too much snow!" And abandoned their shovel...

A young mother took her kids sledding down the middle of Rush St.

 My favorite - People cross country skiing on Michigan Ave!

Standing on Lake Shore Drive - while it was shut down and clearly not plowed yet either.

This is me standing on the Beach. Where does the lake begin? All you could see for miles was pure white.

Thanks to this massive blizzard Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow yesterday! I am looking forward to Springs arrival and hoping it is sooner than later.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

this blog sucks

Caryn said...

Anonymous-

I am sorry to hear that you do not like my blog. Do you have any suggestions on how to improve it? What about it sucks? How did you happen to come across my blog? If you have constructive criticism, please share it. Simply saying it sucks does not help me improve. If you have something hurtful to say, please be upfront, own your comment and leave your name or email me directly instead of hiding behind "Anonymous". Thanks for the feedback.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE that photo of people skiing!!! I wish I would've gotten a pic of the guy snowmobiling down my street.

Also, I don't think your blog sucks. In fact, I think it's really great!!!

Caryn said...

Thanks girl i like that one too. It is just not something you see everyday. Glad you are enjoying my blog. Feel free to stop by and drop me a line anytime! I have been following yours too. Well done, my friend.

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