Look At When People Drove In The Most Dangerous Blizzard For A Concert In Illinois

When it's time to rock, we rock.  In 2011 a huge concert at the iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois went head-to-head with a huge winter storm.  But fans powered through one of the worst blizzards in the history of the Quad Cities to rock.

It was 13 years ago that the Groundhog Day Blizzard of 2011 couldn't stop people from partying with Avenged Sevenfold, Stone Sour, Hollywood Undead, and New Medicine.

The Groundhog Day Blizzard of 2011

The Groundhog Day Blizzard was a record breaker from the Quad Cities, to Chicago, and into Wisconsin.  Over the three days snowfall totaled 18.4″, the most snowfall from a single event, only tying with the January Blizzard of 1979.

All the warnings (below) were there for people from Oklahoma to Michigan.  But many rock fans didn't heed the warnings.

It wasn't just the snow.  Wind gusts of 30 to 50 mph caused blowing and drifting which lead to dangerous driving conditions.

This is what it looked like as it came through.

And here is what it left in its wake.

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What Was Like Before, And After The Show?

Everyone who lived in the Quad Cities during this blizzard has a story.  But if you went to (or tried to go) to the concert, you have quite the story.

I-Rock 93.5's Becky in Black shared her adventure to the concert saying, "I remember being super pumped for this show because I was taking my baby sister to her first metal show!  Even though we knew the weather might get bad we were going because I paid a ton of money for those tickets!"

Becky said, "We made the 30-minute drive to the show.  It was hot as hell in the venue, and the bands were on fire, but as soon as everyone walked outside, we were bombarded with over a foot of snow that had fallen during the concert.  People were shoveling snow away from their cars with their floormats and scraping windshields with credit cards.

But that was just to get to the car.  Then, Becky had to drive home.  She said, "The 30-minute drive took over 2 hours because the plows had been pulled off the highways, and there was so much snow on the road that it was blowing up into our engine and stalling the car.  Cars were in the ditches and medians all over, cars going the wrong way up and down ramps to try to make it home! Complete pandemonium.   I wouldn’t change a minute of it though, because look at us all still telling stories over a decade later about that night.  That is why rock and metal fans are the most loyal and dedicated people you will ever meet!"

Now, 13 years later, Avenged Sevenfold is coming back to the Quad Cities.  March 18 they'll be at The Vibrant Arena at The Mark.  On March 18, things should be fine weather-wise.  It won't snow in Illinois and Iowa in the middle of March.  Right?

Check out the pictures from the show below.  And while you are remembering the show, you'll also remember how far our camera phones have come in 13 years.