Blinds went up and jaws dropped all over Chicago Sunday morning.
Driving snow in mid April.
Piling up.
Social media feeds were full of outrage and words that can’t be printed here, along with observations about the re-emergence of winter just hours before the final season debut of “Game of Thrones.”
“Can anyone confirm whether or not this snow is just an elaborate publicity stunt for the “Game of Thrones” premiere?” asked one fan.
The show’s tagline: “Winter Is Coming.”
At 4 p.m., 4.8 inches of snow had been recorded at O’Hare International Airport, with up to half an inch more possible throughout the evening, National Weather Service Meteorologist Todd Kluber said.
Sunday’s snow was enough to cause headaches, but will not come close to April’s single-day accumulation record of 9.4 inches.
That high mark was set April 2, 1975, and the National Weather Service recorded the exact same snowfall amount on April 5, 1982.
Sunday’s snow caused the Cubs to postpone a home game against the Los Angles Angels. A makeup date hasn’t been announced.
It also gummed up operations at both O’Hare and Midway international airports.
There were 978 flight cancellations at O’Hare as of about 5 p.m. At Midway 148 flights had been cancelled. Both airports were experiencing delays.
And Illinois State Police troopers were responding to a high number of calls of cars spinning out and ending up ditches along highways in the Chicago area, a trooper told the Sun-Times Sunday.
The snow was expected to melt as temps rise to the upper 40s by Monday and to the 60s by Tuesday.
It’s not the first time winter’s hand has reached out from beyond the grave.
The record for latest snow with accumulation in April occurred April 25, 1910, when 2 inches fell.
The record for May was set May 11, 1966, when .2 inches accumulated.
There’s never been snow accumulation in June since officials began keeping records in 1884.
