this caused a large number of motorists and cta buses to become stuck behind and around these accidents. >> reporter: and the weather, bad everywhere in the city was particularly so along lake michigan. >> with the lake there, you have less friction with the winds coming out of the northeast, so the winds are free to blow more strong than they are over land. >> reporter: as a street of tow trucks today worked to clear the tangled chaos on lake shore drive, elsewhere in chicago, most people were digging out. >> i'm the only one along the whole row here that has a snow blower, which makes me a popular jar. >> reporter: but a brave few embraced the elements. >> it's one of those runs you do just to say you did it. >> got a flexible heel so you can kind of move around and, you know, going to check out the park and see what's up. >> reporter: over the course of the storm, chicago's o'hare and midway airports canceled more than 2,500 flights. only twice before has chicago endured a bigger wallop. in 1967 23 inches of snow paralyzed the city. and then, in 1999 21 inches came down. but this bli