It all started around 1pm Tuesday afternoon. At first it was just wind, then really strong wind... then the snow started. Just a few flakes at first. But enough to start the panic. The zoo has contingency plans, of course, and the call went out to all staff. The zoo was going to close at 2, and after all duties were complete keepers were allowed to leave after that. A curator was staying overnight, and a list of staff that lives close (including me) was compiled. No one knew exactly how bad the storm was going to be, but we were ready.
After work, I (stupidly) decided to head up to Jim's for the night. His apartment is way warmer than mine. The bus was very, very slow, so I walked. Normally it's a 15 minute walk, but I was gawking and taking photos. The walk took me about 45 minutes. I'm also very glad I invested in some good snow boots a month ago. Here's a shot of what I was walking through...
Jim and I settled in to watch the blizzard and some TV... and then it happened. A bright blue flash lit up the sky and then we heard it.... THUNDERSNOW. That's right, there was thunder and lightning in the middle of the blizzard. It started around 7pm and went on for several hours. Thundersnow is my new favorite word, by the way.
This morning I took the bus back to my place to get my ski pants and goggles for the trek into work. Buses (amazingly) were running relatively on time. The main streets (Broadway, Clark, Fullerton) were clear, but the side streets (mine, Jim's, etc) were not plowed at all. And no one had shoveled/snow-blown their sidewalks. This made for some treacherous walking. But I had my trusty snow boots, and my goggles to keep the wind out of my eyes. Here's some of what I saw on my way in to work...
A side street... I hope no one needs to move their cars...
Walking down Fullerton. The guy and his dog reminded me of a post-apocalyptic movie.
Fullerton was closed near the shore, and so was Lake Shore Drive. We heard reports of waves blowing over the drive last night, stranding some cars. Only one person died in the storm, and he was walking along Lake Shore last night.
We are very lucky at the zoo, we have some of the best snow removal guys out there. The had (sort of) cleared the hospital driveway, but neglected to clear the giant snowbank in front of the door. And by giant, I mean it was as tall as me.
It continued to snow for most of the morning, this time with less wind, so the snow was fluffy and pretty. Lake effect snow, I'm told. Around noon it started to let off, and the sun came out around 1pm Wednesday morning. So in 24 hours, we got about two feet all together. We got more snow in this one day than the entire previous two months. All in all, a pretty good winter.
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