meaning of avant vs d'ici

Question

The last sentence again: and by midday, we were able to go outside......was translated as: et avant midi, nous avons pu sortir......Doesn't 'avant midi' mean before noon? I put d'ici midi and was marked incorrect.

Accepted Answer

Bonjour G,
‘d’ici midi’ isn’t acceptable here as it refers to a future event:
Ils finiront d'ici deux heures = they will finish within two hours
                                                              they will finish by two o’clock
Je dois partir d'ici deux heures = I have to leave within two hours
Je dois rentrer d’ici midi = I have to go home by noon 
‘A snow storm to remember’ is about a past event. Therefore, ‘d’ici’ wouldn’t work in this context as it expresses the starting point of something happening right now.
See link here: by-point-in-time-d-ici
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !