Chicago winter storm timeline: When will the snow stop, and how much will we end up with?
The Chicago area and parts of Indiana got socked with a massive and unseasonable snow storm Sunday night into Monday morning, and it's not over yet.
A Winter Storm Warning was issued for Cook County, parts of Will County, and northwest Indiana counties with high-impact lake-effect snow having fallen through the night.
A Winter Weather Advisory remained in effect for Cook and Will counties in Illinois until noon, and for much of Northwest Indiana until 6 p.m.
Second round of Monday snow
By 8 a.m. Monday, about 1 to 3 inches of snow had fallen in Chicago, but the storm wasn't quite over yet.
Another 2 to 5 inches of additional snow fell in Chicago between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. This second round was accompanied by strong winds, causing low visibility and more dangerous driving conditions.
By 11 a.m., the sun was out again in downtown Chicago. The snow bands shifted into Northwest Indiana, where snow continued to fall through mid-afternoon.
When all is said and done, First Alert Meteorologist David Yeomans said Chicago will likely see 4 to 6 inches of snow on the ground, and some snow totals over a foot in Lake County, Illinois and Northwest Indiana.
Overnight snow closes airports, slickens roads
Snow increased right off the lake through 1 a.m. Monday. The snow band reached Chicago and the North Shore, and then gradually expanded south and west overnight.
Lake effect snow bands continued to strengthen through the night, producing snowfall rates up to 3 inches per hour. In Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, the snow caused whiteout conditions in the dead of night.
By 12:24 a.m., visibility was down to 0.25 mile at Midway International Airport with blowing snow. The National Weather Service was reporting "localized blizzard conditions."
At 12:28 a.m., 6 inches of snow had fallen in a period of 2.5 hours three miles north of Valparaiso, Indiana.
The snow slowed down for a lull in downtown Chicago during the wee hours Monday morning — providing an opportunity for overnight maintenance crews to break out the snowblowers. But such was not the case elsewhere.
Even when the snow wasn't falling, the wind whipped up and blew snow around as motorists made their way up DuSable Lake Shore Drive downtown.
The worst conditions were seen south of Chicago and in Northwest Indiana, with double-digit snow totals and winds gusting up to 50 mph.
More than a foot of snow had fallen in some areas south of Chicago and in Northwest Indiana as of early Monday. Lake County, Illinois, was expected to be hit the hardest after daybreak.
"It's been like a firehouse filled with snow going back and forth being waved across our area," said CBS News Chicago's Kris Habermehl.
Snow impacts Monday morning commute
Hazardous to life-threatening travel conditions were a worry throughout the Monday morning commute, and with that in mind, the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation deployed its snow plow fleet overnight to keep major roads clear. More than 250 salt spreaders were deployed Sunday night into Monday morning.
The snow-fighting fleet focused on addressing snow and ice along DuSable Lake Shore Drive and the city's arterial routes. Residents can see the snow fleet in action at chicagoshovels.org.
Express buses were not running on DuSable Lake Shore Drive early Monday morning.
Beyond the city, some expressways were treacherous to the point of being impassable as of 4:30 a.m. Poor to no visibility was reported on parts of I-57 south of Chicago and I-65 in Indiana, where there is no overhead lighting. Numerous cars with in the ditch, and motorists were advised to stay away.
As the morning rush did get under way, many roads were a disaster.
Multiple semi-trailer trucks got stuck on southbound I-65 between Merrillville and Crown Point in Northwest Indiana. A multi-vehicle crash also shut down northbound DuSable Lake Shore Drive just south of Oakwood Boulevard, and traffic was backed up all the way to Jackson Park. All lanes reopened before 7:30 a.m.
There were also multiple crashes on southbound Route 53/I-290 before Biesterfield Road in the northwest suburbs, and all lanes were also blocked.
In Merrillville, Indiana, the ramp from U.S. 30 onto northbound I-65 was covered with ice and had to be closed. A semi-trailer truck, a car, and a van got stuck on the ramp, and tow trucks were stuck with their tires spinning — unable to get to the stranded vehicles.
"People in the ditch everywhere," said Bryan Phelps, who was trying to help people who were stuck. "You know, roads don't seem to be — they didn't seem to really prepare the roads for what came last night, so now people are reaping the benefits of it."
Meanwhile, O'Hare International Airport was closed to non-scheduled operations and general aviation overnight during the snowstorm. A total of 243 flights have been canceled for when the airport opens for the morning, while 130 flights have been canceled at Midway International Airport.
Widespread power outages are not expected, though some localized issues may occur.
Snow totals so far
While snow is still falling in parts of northwest Indiana, here are some of the snow totals from the past 24 hours that are being reported by the National Weather Service for the Chicago area as of 2:20 p.m.
- Cedar Lake, Indiana - 12.3 inches
- Momence, Illinois - 12 inches
- St. John, Indiana - 10.5 inches
- Lowell, Indiana - 10 inches
- Crown Point, Indiana - 10 inches
- Winthrop Harbor, Illinois - 10 inches
- Valparaiso, Indiana - 9.5 inches
- La Porte, Indiana - 8.5 inches
- Crescent City, Illinois - 7.6 inches
- Hobart, Indiana - 6.5 inches
- Sauk Village, Illinois - 6.1 inches
- Kankakee, Illinois - 5.4 inches
- Gurnee, Illinois - 5 inches
- Villa Park, Illinois - 5 inches
- Edgewater, Chicago - 3.5 inches
- West Ridge, Chicago - 3.5 inches
- Paxton, Illinois - 3.4 inches
- Evanston, Illinois - 3.3 inches
- Midway International Airport - 2.5 inches
- O'Hare International Airport - 1.7 inches
- Romeoville, Illinois - 1.5 inches
Check back with CBS News Chicago for updates.