On February 1st, 2022, a State of Emergency was issued by Governor JB Pritzker due to Winter Storm Landon. In his announcement, Pritzker said, “I’m authorizing a disaster proclamation for Winter Storm Landon, effective immediately, to support local government disaster response and recovery operations wherever necessary. I want to assure county and local officials and everyone in the path of the storm that my administration will provide resources every step of the way. On the ground, all state assets stand ready to assist. I encourage everyone to do what you can to stay safe: listen to local authorities to stay up to date with the latest conditions in your community and make sure your household has essentials.”
The State of Emergency came after a notice from the National Weather Service warning of a historic winter storm with an expected 12 to 18 inches of snow and winds up to 35 miles per hour. Many universities, public schools, and businesses across the state closed, or held their schedules remotely, for a few days due to conditions that left many citizens snowed into their homes and roads nearly impassable and impossible to drive on.
Throughout the state, people were preparing for this winter storm ahead of time as soon as alerts and warnings were being reported, and many were left to wonder: What causes an historic storm like this? And how often do they occur? Leslie Smith, a mathematics and weather instructor at Parkland College, said, “Our snowfall average for a season is 18 inches and that is usually spread out over a few months. We’ve had other large 2-day snow events that have left us with over a foot of snow, but they are rare.”
Smith discussed the science behind this big weather event, saying, “We can get big storms like this when a few things come together at just the right time. Some things that can help are when the jet stream has a big wave helping set up a strong low-pressure system to move across the country, and when we have a lot of moisture feeding into it from the Gulf of Mexico. If the system moved a little farther north, we could have just had a big rain event, and a little farther south we could have gotten nothing at all. We ended up in just the right place to get a bunch of snow.”
During a rare storm like this, it is important to be weather aware and well prepared. Smith offered tips for future storms and said, “Stay inside and don’t travel during winter storms. Be careful with space heaters because they can be a fire risk. If the power goes out, be careful with heat and light sources like candles and generators. Keep generators outside, more than 20 feet away from doors, windows, and out of the garage. If you are without power for an extended period and it is getting cold, dress in layers and gather everyone in one room to conserve heat. Shoveling snow is good exercise, but don’t overdo it, take breaks often. And make sure to listen to your local news sources.”
Although the roads are cleared up now, and many of us have returned to our normal daily routines, we can all go on to say that we lived through a historic snow event in 2022.
