Day 32: Thunder Snow!

I was jealous of the imposing weather and multiple snow days the East Coast has had this season. Chicago has had super cold weather; some freezing drizzle and even days when it has snowed all day but had only left an inch or two behind. So I’d actually mused that I wish we’d have a big storm, it makes some of the cold and misery of winter more interesting and entertaining.

Snowmageddon couldn’t be more entertaining. The suspense has been building all week. Days before a flake dropped the news was all over it and we were making contingency plans for postponing projects and e-mailing each other various weather reports and debating the degree of danger vs. media exaggeration. Maybe an inch of snow dropped yesterday and this morning it was clear. Then school shut down, businesses announced they were closing, all the offices downtown closed early and the crowds descended on the train and buses in worse than rush hour madness.

I’ve been home for hours watching the wind sweep swirls of snow in all directions creating drifts and clouding the screens. I was tempted to go out and just have a look as visibility became worse and the wind picked up. I actually had to say to myself out loud, “I’m not going out there because I’m not that insane.” But I knew one of the remaining things to do with the day was do something new and I realized that I had to go outside and have a look down the block at least.

I got really bundled up with the monster Chicago coat with a hat under the hood and the tall duck boots and I stepped out into the night, surrounded by speedy winds to take some pictures of Blizzard 2011 in action. While I was out there the sky lit up with lightening followed by thunder. The weather forecasts were not kidding, this is the biggest storm of the season, and maybe the biggest Chicago has had in 40 years. That remains to be seen once the storm has run its course.

The power just went out as I was attempting to upload pictures. It looked like the block was out because the neighbors moaned and the streetlights went out. It was just long enough for me to unplug a few things and have a flash of worry.

What the pics don't capture is the fine mist of snow blowing in my face and covering everything. I love how it sticks to the lines in the bricks but has blown off of most of the cars.