The 6 Biggest NOAA-Ranked Snowstorms Recorded in Illinois

It’s hard to believe December is already here, especially after last year’s paralyzing polar vortex and the steady snowfall that persisted until April.

With an army of plows and more than a million tons of salt, Illinois has the means to cope with a lot of snow, unlike folks down south -- remember the thousands of Atlanta drivers who became helplessly stranded on the city’s interstates last January because of two-and-a-half inches of snow?

NOAA’s Regional Snowfall Index keeps track of big snowstorms every winter and ranks them as notable, significant, major, crippling or extreme. The ranking is called the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale.

Illinois has been affected by nearly half of all the ranked storms since 1961, but here are the six biggest.

Also, see why Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner took a trip to Washington D.C., which included a meeting with President Obama.

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