The Great Blizzard of 2009 - A Chicagoans Perspective.

December 8th and 9th 2009. A massive blizzard paralyzes parts of the nation. The storm deepens to near record lows [currently sitting at 976mb over Lake Huron.] In its wake...closed interstates and stranded automobiles. Men all over the Midwest getting a good workout from shoveling their wives cars out of the driveway.

The storm didn't just affect the Midwest though, damaging thunderstorms roared across the deep south, and even parts of Pennsylvania. The Rockie Mountain ski areas received over 50 inches of snow in spots. Parts of New Mexico and Texas were hammered with high winds, some as high as 135mph in the Guadalupe pass! Dust storms created worse driving conditions than the blizzard.

Wow what a storm...here in Chicago...we too were affected. As I write this it is 10pm on Wednesday, December 9th. I have survived...time to survey the outside world.

Open the door...wow...some massive snow drift peaks. If we get another snow soon Mt Everest might have to bow down.

However me being the prepared man I made sure to bundle up with my super winter survival gear. I manage to trudge through the mountainous terrain of doom so I can survey my truck...you know, with all these reports of people having their cars buried and having to dig out...I wanted to see what I was in for.

That will be most difficult indeed. Peoples Facebook statuses near where I live had comments all day about how brutal the snow and wind was and how their cars couldn't handle it. Im so glad I drive a 4x4 with all terrain tires for such brutal snow.

Then something catches my attention...the deepest wind blown snowdrift of them all.

To hell with rulers, massive snowfalls, and especially drifts like this call for tape measures!

WTF...ok...I guess I over estimated a bit, its easy to get carried away in extreme situations...lets go lower.

Yes...I survived...all thanks to my trusty super winter survival snow gear!

By this point though I am starting to feel fatigued and decide I must make a dash towards my shelter, which truly looks wonderful amidst the beautiful winter scenery.

I am now safe and warming up with a tall can of my favorite brew.

Chicagoans really know how to pull through extreme events let me tell you, we get it bad around here!!! What really worries me is we probably have about 10 more events of this magnitude before the year is over, and with such chaos during this one...I fear for mankind.

So there you have it. The great blizzard of 2009 as seen from the perspective of a resident on the southwest side of Chicago.

Next please...