Support NeoGAF

[Ghost]

My brother's supposed to be visiting Booth in Chicago next week, is he screwed?

 

[Talon]

My brother's supposed to be visiting Booth in Chicago next week, is he screwed?

Should be fine by next week.

Chicago's actually equipped to handle storms. Give 'em time and they'll clear the streets.

 

[Nose Master]

Just waded through 2 feet of snow and ridiculous winds for about 500 feet to go to George Webb's. Feels good man.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

They hustled us out to a bus on the southbound side. We ran a couple hundred yards through drifts. I have no idea how they are move that many cars.

 

[Talon]

Just waded through 2 feet of snow and ridiculous winds for about 500 feet to go to George Webb's. Feels good man.

Mistakes were made.

 

[J2 Cool]

Cell phone pics - Lansing, IL (south suburbs)

Front of my house.

Snow keeps working its way into all these pockets. Our front walkway's been shoveled, but almost 3 feet recollected there.

Back porch. About table high mound.

Brutal times outside today. Shoveling, dealing with a passenger window that decided to not roll up. I couldn't take long stretches out there, the wind was going right through two caps and a scarf, and I'm still sick from this week. Plus glasses are impossible to deal w in this.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Apparently anything without gas will be towed. I hope they don't use this as a reason to fine everyone.
I REALLY want to see the 18ft waves from the lake, but seeing as how difficult it is to get down the street I will wait.
This snow is so....FUN

Everything is being towed, period.

Last step of the saga was a 5 block hike through drifts after a train ride. Home at last.

My son is amazing.

 

[perfectchaos007]

It's currently -4 degrees Farenheit in Amarillo Texas. With windchill it feels like -28. I'm so glad I'm in Austin Texas where it's currently a toasty 17 degrees

 

[LizardKing]

Detroit area here. I thought this storm was kinda overhyped. It was just really windy. If we didn't have those winds it would have been just a decent amount of snow, nothing special really.

 

[ChiTownBuffalo]

Its a parking lot of abandoned cars and buses on Lakeshore Drive.

 

[RDreamer]

My wife was supposed to go in this morning, but she's bad at driving in snow, so I was going to take her in. Yeah, no. Even if we managed to get our car out, this car is stuck in our parking lot entrance/exit:

 

[Plaguefox]

Detroit area here. I thought this storm was kinda overhyped. It was just really windy. If we didn't have those winds it would have been just a decent amount of snow, nothing special really.

Yeah there are cars practically missing under snow in my area. I think it just depends on where you are.

 

[SyNapSe]

It's damn cold here. Also, LOL at the people who parked on the side of the road here. The plows buried them in.

 

[Tetra-9]

Reporting in from Rural DeKalb, IL. area. I saw the snowlighting last night which was bad ass, but now I gotta find a way into work even without my road not plowed :/ Good luck everyone

 

[ZeroGravity]

Detroit area here. I thought this storm was kinda overhyped. It was just really windy. If we didn't have those winds it would have been just a decent amount of snow, nothing special really.

Across the river in Windsor, same here. Didn't come close to the amount of snow they were predicting here. My college still closed though so I'm not complaining!

 

[yacobod]

got sent home yesterday from the refinery at 2 pm. supposed to be getting paid to stay home today and tomorrow. not bad.

snow is fucked outside, i'll have to venture out later and take some photos from around my house.

 

[Ash Sparrow]

My vid a bit crap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_Y9IDQVTcQ

 

[GeoramA]

Holy shit we're fucking buried here. Still got power, thankfully.

 

[kitchenmotors]

Northern Suburbs here. I can't believe the amount of snow outside near the front door and on the road. I haven't seen this much snow in such a short amount of time since moving here back in 91. I have yet to see any Snowplows, but that's a given. Storm hasn't let up and who knows how much snow has fallen and at what rate.

I'm kinda shocked businesses were not letting people out extremely early yesterday. Our elementary school shut down the building at 3pm, which is exactly when the storm hit. Even I thought that was rather late to shut things down, but there was plenty of warning out there for people to be home by this time. Better safe than sorry.

I hate to come off like a dick, but I'm not even sure why people went on Lake Shore Drive. They were warning people not to travel on there because of the flood warning and the waves from Lake Michigan, plus it wouldn't be the safest way to travel with the blowing snow and ice. People should have taken alternate routes, IMO, and listened to the warnings that were being given out a full day before-hand.

And of course, people are bitching and complaining that there is no way for police to get to them. Well, you shouldn't have been traveling during the Blizzard on a road the city told you not to travel on. Now it's that much harder for police and rescue crews to get to you. But, the city should have also closed down Lake Shore Drive before 3pm, to be safe. It's as much their fault as it is motorists who traveled on it.

 

[Azzurri]

Sucks for you guys, we got ice which was about an inch, but it's ok now.

 

[besada]

Everything is being towed, period.

Last step of the saga was a 5 block hike through drifts after a train ride. Home at last.

My son is amazing.

Good to know you're safe.

 

[sonicfan]

What the fuck is it with people today, can't you take a little snow....I grew up in Northern Michigan, right on the lake, you want to talk snow, they get it all the time like this.....So does places like Colorado, New Mexico, Utah.....

I remember as a kid coming out in our drive way and seeing a bump in the drive about 20 feet long, it was my Mom's car covered in snow.....up above the windows almost to the top.......I lived out in New Mexico for a few years, moved away in 08...I remember one New Year's eve we got over 2 feet of snow in about 6-8 hours.....Had to go up on the roof (they are almost all flat out where we lived) and started shoveling....

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Winter Wonderland where I live in Merrillville, Indiana. 30 minutes south east of Chicago. Snow is up to the hood of my car. Supervisor called and I told her I'm not going in today. I'm literally snowed in.

 

[IAmtheFMan]

So uh... what's going to be the best way to get from Hyde Park to the Loop where I live? Mind you I'm coming off a 30 hour shift now, and there's no way I want to stay another second here in this place.

Is 90/94 open? Can I even get to it?

 

[ChiTownBuffalo]

So uh... what's going to be the best way to get from Hyde Park to the Loop where I live? Mind you I'm coming off a 30 hour shift now, and there's no way I want to stay another second here in this place.

Is 90/94 open? Can I even get to it?

Its open. But good luck getting to it.

A taxi might be your best bet. Lakwshore is out of the question, I dunno that they've towed everything yet.

 

[george_us]

Wish we had snow here in Austin, it's just cold as all fuck. My mother back in Ohio told me how much ice there was on the ground though. Scary shit.

 

[ChiTownBuffalo]

You know, I've had my share of blizzards being from Denver, like back in 03, when my parents got 65 inches in 3 days and where I lived got 38 or something.

Colorado blizzards are kinda nice. The snow is soft, and you think about how much the snow will help the run off and look forward to rafting, and stuff like that.

Chicago blizzards will fucking cut you and leave you to die.

 

[Loki]

My vid a bit crap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_Y9IDQVTcQ

Wow, crazy. That looks like more than we had here in NYC a month ago, which was like 20-22" or something. I don't remember the cars being nearly halfway covered like that.

 

[suikodan]

Just a regular snowstorm for us Montrealers.

Good luck to all those not used to those kinds of storms.

 

[ChiTownBuffalo]

What I hated the most about walking around in it was, when the wind would pick up and the city would blizz in my face.

 

[Phobophile]

Just woke up. Unsurprisingly my gym was closed so I scouted out to see the damage on the nearest streets.

A view of the courtyard completely obscured by a chest-high snow drift:

The street half a block north of me is completely buried by about a foot:

The nearest main artery is completely wide open:

 

[whytemyke]

What the fuck is it with people today, can't you take a little snow....I grew up in Northern Michigan, right on the lake, you want to talk snow, they get it all the time like this.....So does places like Colorado, New Mexico, Utah.....

I remember as a kid coming out in our drive way and seeing a bump in the drive about 20 feet long, it was my Mom's car covered in snow.....up above the windows almost to the top.......I lived out in New Mexico for a few years, moved away in 08...I remember one New Year's eve we got over 2 feet of snow in about 6-8 hours.....Had to go up on the roof (they are almost all flat out where we lived) and started shoveling....

Dude, I grew up in Michigan and we had the same shit you did. I was the same way, "Oh this is bullshit, tons of snow, walked to school, uphill both ways" blah blah blah.

But the thing you're forgetting is that those storms usually accumulate over a period of days. Here you're talking about almost 20 inches of snow falling in less than 10 hours, AND it falling in a city area. There's no where for the snow to go even if plows can move it. So yeah, slightly different getting 20" in downtown Chicago than in the middle of nowhere like Marquette, MI, or whatever.

And for what it's worth, my friend grew up in Iron Mountain and even she's saying this is the worst storm that she's seen.
==

I read that the national guard was called up in Wisconsin to help people get off of 94 south of Milwaukee. Crazy!

Anywho... I've got my boss on the phone telling me to try to be in to work by noon. :jakncoke. I haven't even ventured out to see my car yet but I'm really nervous/scared since I'm a street parker. It's gonna suck. I don't even own a snow shovel since I live in an apartment building, so I have no clue how they expect me to get my car out and in to work. Hopefully the snow lets up here in the next few hours.

 

[Phobophile]

So uh... what's going to be the best way to get from Hyde Park to the Loop where I live? Mind you I'm coming off a 30 hour shift now, and there's no way I want to stay another second here in this place.

Is 90/94 open? Can I even get to it?

Take the Metra, silly.

 

[KingGondo]

Here in Norman, OK--it's not supposed to rise above freezing until Friday, and the only access road from my apartment to a highway is a sheet of ice.

There's seriously a chance that I won't even leave my apartment until the weekend. It would be great if I got paid leave from my job, but I don't.

 

[ChiTownBuffalo]

Colorado, or Denver/Metro snow is a completely different animal.

You see, the average temp of Denver in the winter is around 42 or something. So when it doesw snow, it'll all melt away by the next day, because it'll hit 65.

Denver lies just below the foothills, so the storms that come over the Rockies pass far over it, and then it dumps on the plains and Kansas. It doesn't stick around when it hits.

Denver has as many sunny days as San Diego, so no, most Coloradans freak out if snow lingers more than a couple days or it drops below freezing.

 

[Somnid]

Not a lot of snow here in Boulder, CO but it's -13 degrees.

 

[Gritesh]

Must be a shock for you people that aren't used to this stuff.

All those pictures look like every day life for 6 months of the year here in Edmonton.


There is a snow pile on my neighbors front lawn that is so high you can only see his roof from the road.

Good luck to everyone today! Be safe of the roads, and remember, keep your front wheels straight!

 

[ChiTownBuffalo]

Not a lot of snow here in Boulder, CO but it's -13 degrees.

So that means Boulderites wear long sleeves with their vests, instead of just tshirts.

 

[FOOTE]

There's seriously a chance that I won't even leave my apartment until the weekend. It would be great if I got paid leave from my job, but I don't.

Yeah, I have to use vacation days for any time off due to this. I'll probably drive out and see how far I make it, I have to stop for gas today too.

 

[IAmtheFMan]

Its open. But good luck getting to it.

A taxi might be your best bet. Lakwshore is out of the question, I dunno that they've towed everything yet.

Yeah, talked to some people coming in and they said 90/94 actually isn't too bad. I should be okay sticking with main roads I guess.

 

[Like the hat?]

outside on my deck this morning in Lake County

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjwy6eyUpH0

 

[Yaweee]

The total snow drop West of Chicago wasn't really that bad. I'd guess ~12 inches, maybe less. Drifts are high, and despite being on the third floor of a semi-indoor structure (the stairwells and 2nd/3rd floor hallways are enclosed, while the 1f entrance is open air) there is quite a bit of snow outside my door. 3 or 4 inches in my covered 3rd floor balcony, too. The only vehicles on the streets are plow trucks.

Probably not leaving until this weekend, but partly (mostly) because I'm too damn sick. As shitty as I may feel, the health center at the university is closed due to the weather, and 30+ miles away.

 

[squicken]

Texas is having rolling blackouts, which is stupid. We have incredibly lax environmental laws and will pretty much let anyone build anything anywhere. In exchange for that, why would there ever be a shortage? This isn't California, where the hippies block progress all the time

 

[Chamber]

Northern Suburbs

The door to my apartment building is blocked by a 5 foot snow drift. Looked out the window and and the cars are totally buried. Fun times.

 

[whytemyke]

Northern Suburbs

The door to my apartment building is blocked by a 5 foot snow drift. Looked out the window and and the cars are totally buried. Fun times.

I'm trying to cowboy up and get out there and you guys posting stuff like this isn't helping me haha.

 

[butzopower]

Pretty good snowfall in Iowa City, IA. My normal 5 minutes walk to work is taking about an hour despite a short break after digging my stairs out.

 

[grap3fruitman]

 

[shintoki]

So fucking happy I have power at least. Just got done with two and a half hours of shoveling. Some places it was a foot, around the garage and door, 3 feet.

Enjoying some French Toast and Eggs now ^_^

 

[Grimm Fandango]

Grimm, is that up against a glass door, or... ? Either way, wtf!.

Nothing but a snow pile. I'm a little scared to see what it's like now.

Probably going outside to take another video in a bit.

 

[Yaweee]

But there’s relief in sight – after dumping 17.1 inches of snow at O’Hare Airport , as of 5 a.m, and about 15 inches at Midway – forecasters say the worst of the storm is just about over. The snow was expected to stop by mid- to late morning, according to the National Weather Service. Clear skies and bitterly cold weather, with temperatures in the city hovering near zero tonight.

With many drivers still stranded all over the region, officials were telling people to stay at home unless travel was absolutely critical. Almost all of the Illinois expressways were “impassable,” with freeway ramps swamped under three to four feet of drifting snow, according to the Illinois State Police as of 5:30 a.m.

“We have a lot of people stuck and not enough people out there to help,” Illinois State Police Elgin District Sgt. Amy Pelletier said.

“It’s terrible,” Joliet District Sgt. Chris Paluch said as crews scrambled to keep up late Tuesday. “There are too many crashes and too many vehicles in ditches. You can’t even get to the cars anymore.”

Conditions were so dire in north suburban Lake County and west suburban Kane County that officials there had closed all roads to traffic as of this morning.

Driving in those counties was said to be “nearly impossible,” and with crews struggling to reach stranded drivers, heading out on the roads could “put your life at risk,” according to the Lake County alert, issued through the NWS.

It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if people had either stayed home yesterday, or left earlier than 3. The traffic would have been bad enough without a storm when every single place decides to let off at almost the exact same time.



And for people looking at these pictures, you should note that almost all of the snow shown is from this storm alone. There was a bit of a melt a week ago, leaving not much behind.