Remembering the blizzard that hit Jan. 26, 1967

Make no mistake, the weather outside right now is miserable. In fact, it has been most of this winter.

But in reality, it could be much, much worse. On this date 47 years ago, it began snowing at 5 a.m. and when it stopped around 10 a.m. the next day, the blizzard of 1967 left behind 23 inches of snow. At Midway Airport, 53 MPH wind gusts were recorded — which resulted in snow drifts as high as 6 feet in some areas. Thousands of cars were buried or abandoned on the roadways for days.

A look back at the winter carnage:

Here’s an opening news clip from WMAQ on the night of the blizzard:

Vehicles of all types are snarled in a traffic jam on Cermak Road on Jan. 28, 1967. | Sun-Times file photo

Cars were still buried under snow three days later. | Sun-Times file photo

A mailman does away with the usual mail cart and uses a sled for totting his mailbag along his route on Jan. 26, 1967. | Sun-Times file photo

Some kids jump off a roof into the snow, because, why not? | Sun-Times file photo

Forget about waiting for the plows — these folks decided to take matters into their own hands. | Sun-Times file photo

Traffic on the Ohio exit ramp from the Kennedy is tied up back to the expressway as the city’s Thermal Snow Melter goes into action and clears snow with the help of a front-end loader on Feb. 3, 1967. | Sun-Times file photo

Here’s one way to get rid of the snow — take it with you. | Sun-Times file photo

In spite of most of the streets in Oak Lawn being plowed, one woman still choose to use a sled to go shopping on Jan. 30, 1967. | Sun-Times file photo

A tow truck pulls auto from snow bank on South Park on Feb. 1, 1967. | Sun-Times file photo

Stranded motorists push a stuck car in the 1300 block of North Clark Street around 8:15 p.m. on Jan. 26, 1967, which was the height of the blizzard. | Sun-Times file photo

Photo taken from a balcony of the Carl Sandberg Village apartments, 1355 N. Clark, shows the traffic jam that developed below at Clark and Schiller streets. | Sun-Times file photo

Days after the blizzard, buses were still stuck in the snow on Laramie Ave. | Sun-Times file photo

A shot of Greenview Avenue in Rogers Park. | Sun-Times file photo