A Whole Lotta Snow.

(Beginning of the blizzard. The blowing snow looks like smoke!)

Chicago just experienced a blizzard on Tuesday night. It was a big one. A bad one. It came with thunder and lightning. And so the weatherman called it “Thunder Snow.” The wind howled, visibility was low, the snow came down heavily and was swept around like smoke, creating huge drifts in every nook and cranny, doorway and window sill all over the city. Lake Shore Drive was shut down but not before several hundred cars were stopped and finally abandoned for hours. It was a mess.

We were warned on Monday that it was coming. We all ran around and stockpiled food for the big night. The day started off innocently enough. Monday gave us a light snowfall and moderate temperatures (around 30 degrees Fahrenheit). We were all running about our usual business but everywhere you turned there was talk of “the blizzard.” There were the usual naysayers: “Weathermen don’t know what they’re talking about!” and the alarmists: “This is gonna be bad!” I just stayed home and waited for the storm to hit. Friends stopped by and took me with them to do some shopping for which I am so grateful. I had finally purged the multiple pizza boxes and take-out containers from my month of recuperation from my knee thing and so I didn’t have a thing to eat in my house.

And “Blizzard 2011” did not disappoint. I sat through the night looking out my window and listening to the roar of the wind. It was amazing. I woke up this morning and looked out at the clear sky and checked out the damage. There was snow everywhere. We got over 20 inches and after the wind and snow plows came through, the pile up was huge! Folks are stranded. Their garage doors are sealed shut by the weight and pile up of snow. Cars are buried, side walks obscured and where there was a street cleared, there were no corners left to cross the street. They were covered under mountains of snow. Check out the video I shot below:

But our city is no stranger to this kind of mess. Crews are working around the clock to move snow and reveal the pavement below and free us to return to our lives of running around. But for now, I am enjoying the sanctioned respite – and with no knee pain.