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Chicago's Had Almost 2 More Feet Of Snow Than Anchorage This Year, And That's Obscene

Something's Amiss When Chicago Has More Snow Than Anchorage
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By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

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An average winter in Chicago typically includes just more than 26 inches of snow. But this has been no average winter in the Windy City.

The latest snowstorm on Monday -- which came complete with some thundersnow -- brought another 5 inches of snow and officially made the 2013-2014 winter Chicago's fifth snowiest season on record, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The snowiest winter in Chicago since 1884 was the winter of 1978-1979, when the AP notes 89.7 inches of snow fell.

The 67.9 inches of snow that have fallen this winter in Chicago are not only impressive by the city's standards, but also stack up favorably compared to other traditionally snow-covered cities.

Anchorage, Alaska, which has one of the nation's highest average snowfall totals of any city, has only recorded 45.3 inches of snow this year through Monday -- more than 10 inches less than its average snow to date and almost 23 inches less than Chicago's total this year. How strange is all this? Chicago doesn't even make the list of the nation's 101 snowiest cities by average, while Anchorage is number three.

Chicago's snow total this year also tops snowy cities like Salt Lake City, St. Paul, Minn. and Green Bay, Wis. Below are some of our favorite photos of Chicago's snowy, seemingly endless winter:

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Navy Pier juts out into an ice-covered Lake Michigan on February 18, 2014 in Chicago. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Ice covers the shoreline of Lake Michigan on February 18, 2014. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Boats docked at Navy Pier in Lake Michigan are surrounded by ice on February 18, 2014. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Boats sit snow-covered on a dock in Burnham Harbor near the Loop on January 21, 2014. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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The tugboat Commissioner breaks up ice in Burnham Harbor near the Loop on January 21, 2014. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Ice builds up on the Chicago River as temperatures drop below zero January 27, 2014. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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A pedestrian navigates a snow-covered stairway along the Chicago River as temperatures drop below zero January 27. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Ice forms along the shore of Lake Michigan as temperatures hovered around -10 degrees on January 28, 2014. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Michelle Kottke shovels snow with the help of her dog Harlee in Barrington, Ill., Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Daily Herald, Bob Chwedyk)
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People carry sleds at Montrose Beach Park in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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A morning commuter walks against blowing snow Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
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Cars are covered by snow in rental car parking lot at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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A person goes down a hill on a sled in Humboldt Park on January 2, 2014. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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A woman and child walk through a snow-covered field in Humboldt Park on January 2, 2014. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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A jogger runs on a snowy sidewalk in Evanston, Ill. on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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A traveler walks in the economic parking lot at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Children get a ride down a snow-covered sidewalk the Wicker Park neighborhood on February 5, 2014. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Before You Go

Chiberia, Take Two
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An aerial view shows downtown Chicago surrounded by snow and icy Lake Michigan Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato) (credit:AP)
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Steam rises from the city as the sun comes up with temperatures hovering around -10 degrees January 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A Ferris wheel on Navy Pier rises above ice along the shore of Lake Michigan on January 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Ice builds up on the Chicago River as temperatures drop below zero January 27, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Ice forms along the shore of Lake Michigan as temperatures hovered around -10 degrees on January 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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With temperatures hovering around -10 degrees steam rises from Lake Michigan January 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Morning commuters walk across frozen Chicago River as they arrive Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in downtown Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato) (credit:AP)
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A woman walks a dog as steam is vented through a grate in a downtown Chicago street Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) (credit:AP)
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An L train navigates a frozen landscape near the United Center with temperatures hovering around -10 degrees January 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Ice surrounds the boat docks in the harbor at 31st Street Beach as temperatures drop below zero January 27, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Ice forms along the shore of Lake Michigan as temperatures hovered around -10 degrees on January 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A pedestrian navigates a snow-covered stairway along the Chicago River as temperatures drop below zero January 27, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Despite temperatures hovering around -10 degrees a bike rider makes his morning commute January 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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Steam rises from the Chicago River as temperatures drop below zero January 27, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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With temperatures hovering around -10 degrees steam rises from Lake Michigan January 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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