City of Crystal Lake 2011 blizzard and windstorm A.J. Reineking, MPA Assistant to the Director Public Works Department City of Crystal Lake, Illinois This past year was an unusual year for extreme weather across the United States. From the devastating tornadoes that hit Joplin, Missouri, to drought-stricken areas of North Texas, public agencies were called on time and again to aid with disaster recovery. Crystal Lake, Illinois, a community of about 40,000 residents, at the far reaches of the Chicago suburbs, experienced two extraordinary weather events that tested the City’s emergency response forces. In February, Crystal Lake was pounded with 18.5 inches of snow that seemed to stop time for a day, except for local public works agencies and snow removal contractors. Again, in July a portion of Chicagoland was pelted with ripping winds that caused massive power outages and caused a completely new kind of trouble.
What was the biggest difference between these two events? The weather forecasts were able to predict the 12-20 inches of snow days in advance. The windstorm was nothing but a small blip on the radar that didn’t look threatening. This massive windstorm caught us off guard and put us into a reactive state. In both events, strong leadership and quick action enabled the City to react quickly to changing conditions, establish a plan, and execute our mission.
A seeming ghost town Snow was falling by early evening on February 1, 2011. For days, the weather had been forecast that northern Illinois would be hit hard with snow. As the first flakes were falling the City’s leadership team had already met to discuss the response
Work continued after the snow stopped falling to clean public streets and sidewalks and open the Municipal Complex. 44 APWA Reporter
January 2012
plan. Fuel tanks were filled and the salt storage bins were topped off in anticipation of a long event. Accommodations were being made to turn the parts of City Hall into a makeshift dormitory for the plow operators. There was a high likelihood that anybody coming off shift and going home would not make it in the next day. As the snow continued to fall throughout the evening, the city turned into a seeming ghost town. Most businesses closed early and residents had heeded the warning and stayed home. The lack of traffic made plowing easier despite the low visibility caused by the dense snow and high winds. As the night progressed, the snow continued to accumulate at a rate of 1.5 to 2 inches per hour with no signs of letting up. Most jurisdictions around the city decided to halt their plowing operations and wait out the storm. Conditions were deemed too hazardous to continue plowing especially on the more open rural routes. Without snow being cleared from the state roads, several cars and trucks became stranded on the main state artery north of the city limits. The Public Works Department responded by sending supervisors and plow operators on rescue missions to get these motorists off the road and transport them to a preestablished warming facility nearby. Meanwhile, the leadership team decided to pull our crews off residential streets, and focus on the main routes to ensure that Public Works wouldn’t have to rescue their own plow drivers and
