I was not in Chicago at that time, but southern Indiana got some of that storm. I remember it well. I was just a 14 year old kid.

My dad had to park his car down by the highway and in the school parking lot because where we lived we had a hill to go over and with all of that snow, we would have never made it!

He wanted to be able to get on the highway for work and to go to the store. We did indeed went to the store, he and I. I remembered carrying groceries from the car to the house. About 1/4 miles, uphill. Snow came up to my knees. I was very tired when we made it to the house.

 

I remember as a kid jumping off the roofs of houses into huge snow drifts!

Like you, True, I had a similar experience. My mom sent me to the local convenient store with a red wagon to buy all the bread, meat and milk I could. The store was about 2 miles away. By the time I got there the store had been stripped pretty clean. So I bought what was left and headed home. All in all the round trip took over 6 hours. School was closed for over two weeks! What a memory!!!

 

To anyone that remembers... how does '67 compare with the snow of '79?

 

Originally posted by <b>superdave</b>!
To anyone that remembers... how does '67 compare with the snow of '79?

Back to back to back brutal winters occurred in the late 1970s. These were 3 of the 5 coldest winters on record. 1976-1977 had 54.1 inches of snow and was the 3rd coldest winter ever. January 1977 was the coldest January on record with an average temperature of 10.1. there were 12 days below zero in January 1977. December 28 1976 to February 8 1977 has the distinction of being the longest continuous string of sub-freezing weather in Chicago history, 43 days. Winter 1977-1978 was the 5th coldest. The 82.3 inches of snow that fell was the 2nd highest seasonal total. Winter 1978-1979 was the 2nd coldest. The 89.7 inches of snow that fell is the all-time season record. One of Chicago's worst blizzards occurred January 13th and 14th 1979. There were 18.8 inches of snow. Roofs collapsed from the weight of the snow, people fought over parking spaces and a mayor lost his job.

But the most extreme winter weather I ever experienced in Chicago occurred the year before the Bears' Superbowl Season. On January 20, 1985 the temperature went down to -27, and a wind chill of -93 was recorded. This is the all-time coldest temperature for Chicago.

 

Originally posted by <b>C Blizzy</b>!
b] One of Chicago's worst blizzards occurred January 13th and 14th 1979. There were 18.8 inches of snow. Roofs collapsed from the weight of the snow, people fought over parking spaces and a mayor lost his job.[/b]

Yup I was born on the 12th. My parents always tell me how fortunate they were to have beaten the huge snowfall. However, their stories about taking me home in a sled aren't as believable