January Days

 

 Remembering the snows of years ago.  The photo above is from the Chicago Tribune Archives of the Big Snow  of 1967.

The blizzard of 1967 is still  the largest single snow event  in Chicago history. During  35 hours on January  26-27, a total of  23 inches of snow fell on the city and suburbs.

We've had winters of ice jams and ice dams, double-digit subzero wind chills, Chiberia   and the polar vortex.  But when we think of January in Chicago, maybe it's the snow days we remember. 

January this year has  seemed especially long, and gray. There are 5  Tuesdays in January this year!  When will it be over?  We are all asking ourselves that question, as we walk on the treacherous  ice, under gray sky the color of dirty snow. 

But January has its beauty, too. Just ask the die-hard folks who ventured out the first day of not-so subzero temperatures to go to the grocery store or walk their dogs  under bright sun and dazzling blue sky.  

 We are almost 2/3 of the way through meteorological winter---December,  January, February. Yes, there can be blizzards in February, too.  Remember the Groundhog Day Blizzard of 2011?  This was the third  largest snowfall  total in Chicago history, a total of  21.2 inches (54 cm) of snow fell at O'Hare Airport. 

But February is the turning point. Days are getting longer, almost 2 minutes of daylight every day. Today, we will have 30 minutes 46 seconds more daylight than  the winter solstice on December 21, 2023.