 Along the shoreline , blizzards shut down traffic and communication , causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage . A 22 @-@ inch ( 56 cm ) snowfall in Cleveland , Ohio , put stores out of business for two days . There were four @-@ foot ( 122 cm ) snowdrifts around Lake Huron . Power was out for several days across Michigan and Ontario , cutting off telephone and telegraph communications . A recently completed US $ 100 @,@ 000 Chicago breakwater , intended to protect the Lincoln Park basin from storms , was swept away in a few hours . The Milwaukee harbor lost its entire south breakwater and much of the surrounding South Park area that had been recently renovated . 
