On the night of February 1, 2011, Chicago was hit with the third-worst snowstorm in its history. The city was blanketed in more than 20 inches of snow overnight and saw wind gusts that exceeded 55 mph as well as a dazzling display of "thundersnow" above the lake. Lake Shore Drive was evacuated, CTA service came to a grinding halt and those who were stuck going to work the following morning were forced to trek through a world that looked a lot like it had ended.
We dug into our archives to find the best photos our staff took of the storm and its aftermath, and we're glad we did. The storm was one of the coolest weather events to occur in the city in decades—even if it did cause millions of dollars in damages.
