We can laugh about it, now that we’re lounging by the pool and sipping a frozen drink with a little umbrella in it. As we slather on the sunscreen, we can remember red noses from a totally different cause. Watching our ornery neighbor slip and slide as he shovels snow brings a smile now. We remember now what’s so funny about Chicago winters, even if we were too cold to chuckle at the time. Sip your drink and smile as you read a few interesting and fun facts about Chicago winters.
Cool Facts about Winter Storms
Don’t know what’s so cool about Chicago winter storms? Lots of things. For example, many of us weren’t around to compare the storms of yesteryear to those of today. However, someone was, because we have a few facts about them:
- Only two storms hit Chicago in the winter of 1921-1922
- Five is the norm, but in 1977-1978, 18 storms immobilized Chicago
- The most severe of storms hit as early as October of 1925 and as late as May of 1929
- The origins of a storm have just as much to do with its severity as the storm’s content. A storm beginning in Asia, for instance, will travel across the ocean, but could stall out before it hits the mountains. It’s the storms that do reach the mountains or come up from the Gulf of Mexico that punishes Chicago. The storms pick up necessary cold air from the Rockies, and then dump their anger on Chicago.
The word “snow” paralyzes both people and cities. One inch is enough to take pretty pictures, but ten inches will park us in front of the TV watching 24 hours of before, during and after storm coverage while sipping hot cocoa and wondering if they will ever stop finding things to say about a boatload of snow.
Then there’s the neighborliness of shoveling snow… We’ve all seen it. We shoveled for hours to uncover our cars enough to go to work. We may or may not save our parking spot using a chair, which is most common, or a yard decoration or maybe a kid. We fume and plot against the usurper who took “our” spot when we return to find our parking spot filled. The same thing happened to this guy, who took the chair and hurled it into a neighbor’s yard after thinking the neighbor was saving a spot he shoveled for himself – only to find out later it was the spot the neighbor actually shoveled. Oops. We smile now, but keep in mind that by fall we’ll need a good supply of deck chairs.
Southerners in Chicago
Nothing makes us snort our frozen drink like remembering the faces of other-than-Chicagoans watching the first storm of the season. No one can tell it like Lewis Grizzard, either, when he reported that the “birds had the good sense to find a condo in Florida” and “there are only two seasons in Chicago: winter and Fourth of July”. Even though he was forced to get proper winter boots, he was quite proud of not getting those furry Russian winter hats. Hm, might be some hope for Southerners after all.
Brancato Snow and Ice Management can’t speak for furry hats of any nationality, but we can speak to snow and ice removal. We service the north, south and west suburbs of Chicago in addition to Elk Grove, IL. Privately owned and operated, we work 24/7/365 to keep snow and ice in their place: off your parking lot, sidewalks and other public throughways. We’ll be glad to discuss your needs when you contact us for more information.