this was the craziest storm. ever.

this storm, aka 2011 blizzard/ ground hog day blizzard/most exciting day of my life! blizzard, dumped 20.2" of snow in a period of 24 hours. it inspired words like thunder-snow (there really was lightening) from legendary chicago weather announcer Tom Skilling. It trapped hundreds of motorists on lake shore drive. it was furious, frightening and unforgettable.

i woke up this morning (late of course, who the hell would go to class in this weather) and all i could see was white out of my windows.

Normal view outside:

This morning's view outside:

The storm was too incredible to miss. I had to get out and explore. With winds up to 60 mph, and visibility down to 20 feet sometimes, this was the opportunity of a lifetime!! The last time a storm this big hit was '67, I could possibly never see a weather event of this magnitude again.

I trekked over to Lake shore drive first.

(the lake)

It was completely barren except for the occasional pedestrians/snow trucks/squad cars. I saw a group of up to no good guys wandering down the middle of auxiliary LSD (main LSD was shut down). and by no good guys, i mean fellow classmates ;) They'd braved the weather all the way from Lincoln Park.

punch the hurricane steve!

(http://www.hulu.com/watch/180975/saturday-night-live-jay-as-will-smith)

They told me that the lake was really awful. Truly the only words that would make me want to see the lake up close and personal. Tom Skilling told me that the waves went up to 25 feet during the storms because of the winds. From the words awful and 25 feet waves, I was destined to check it out.

I took the tunnel down, although safety may have been questionable what with the security tape/barricades. But hey, the policeman on patrol didn't say anything when a dad/son pair went down, so I took my chances. Needless to say, the drifts were impressive. I tried to get a quick shot of the lake, but the police man started hollering and I had to head back. Basically, imagine the lake pic from above, but 50 feet closer.

Shots of Mich Ave:

I stopped by Walgreens to get some more batteries for my dead camera, when who would you know, the same classmate peeps showed up at the same time. Serendipitous indeed.

All in all, since I don't have a job/didn't have a medical emergency/didn't get stuck on LSD/still had power, it was an awesome day.