Early winter storm drops heavy snow, prompts school closings, snarls traffic in Chicago area
Winter weather warnings were in effect in much of the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana Monday morning for an unseasonable fall snowstorm that clobbered much of the area with lake-effect snow.
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After a long lull, downtown Chicago got clobbered with snow again beginning during the 9 a.m. hour. By 11 a.m., the snow had moved out.
Winter Storm Warnings went into effect Sunday night and continued through the morning for much of the area. 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.
While the Chicago Public Schools were open as usual Monday, the winter storm did prompt school closings elsewhere in the area. The storm also snarled traffic both on the roads and in the air.
The biggest snow totals were seen in Lake County, Illinois and Northwest Indiana.
When the system fully passes, Yeomans said the Chicago area will likely see a total of 4 to 6 inches of snow on the ground and some snow totals over a foot in Lake County, Illinois and Northwest Indiana.
Snow totals reach double-digits in parts of the Chicago area
The snow began falling and intensifying in the Chicago area as early as 8 p.m. Sunday, and picked up through the night with thunderclaps. Accumulations piled up in Cook County and around the lake into Northwest Indiana.
A mesolow — a small low-pressure system — moved through the area in the early morning hours, spreading the misery more widely.
Overnight snow dropped several inches of accumulation in Chicago and north into Lake County, Illinois. The worst conditions were seen south of Chicago and in Northwest Indiana, with double-digit snow totals and winds gusting up to 50 mph.
Some parts of Northwest Indiana saw more than a foot of snow.
The National Weather Service reported a foot of accumulation in Momence, Illinois, and 13 inches in the unincorporated LaPorte County, Indiana community of Hesston.
While the snow stopped in the wee hours in some areas, at least a couple more inches were expected to fall throughout the morning hours. At 9 a.m., snow was falling again in downtown Chicago.
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 lake-effect snow will become more localized mid-morning through the afternoon as the snow band is expected to pivot around the lake from west to east. With the snow breaking up, totals were expected to fall short of what was expected earlier.
Lake County, Illinois, was expected to be hit the hardest after daybreak. While skies were blue in much of the area by 7:30 a.m., a new band of lake-effect snow was clobbering the Vernon Hills and Mundelein areas.
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
Residents hope unusually early heavy snow isn't bad sign for winter
Heavy lake effect snow pummeled neighborhoods across northwest Indiana, including in St. John, where at least 10 inches fell during the storm, at times causing whiteout conditions.
"It was just a blizzard. It was crazy," Francisco Miranda said. "I've never seen anything like it in years".
John Ridder was clearing his driveway on Monday after his construction job was canceled due to the storm.
"It snowed all night, and we got like 10 ½ inches," he said
Born and raised in northwest Indiana, Ridder said he's used to the impact of lake effect snow after 25 years, but he hopes this early storm isn't a sign of what's to come this winter.
"I was told that this is historical, the way it came this early," he said.
The large amount of snow in Lake County, Illinois, caught many people off guard. Before the winter storm hit, it was hard to know exactly what to expect, so some people said they prepared for the worst, hoped for the best, and preparations paid off.
As he shoveled snow off the front steps of his store, Horsefeathers, in downtown Waukegan, after a long night on the couch in the back, Jim Domiano knew that even though the business is closed on Mondays, he'd need to clear a path out front so the snow wouldn't turn into ice overnight.
"When you own a small business, you don't leave when the door is closed," he said. "I've been in the Midwest for 30 years, so I wasn't completely surprised at the aberrant weather. I was a little bit surprised at the size of the storm."
A few miles north in Winthrop Harbor, public works crews continued their own clearing work on Monday after a long night.
"About 2:30 in the morning, it was white out conditions; a little over 2 inches an hour. It was coming down pretty good," Winthrop Harbor Public Works Director Tim Neargarder said.
His crews laid down about 70 tons of salt for this storm, but started the season with 900 tons.
"We were ready for a lot. We weren't expecting a lot, but we were ready for it came, and it sure did," he said.
One person not as prepared as he'd planned to be was Michael Rucht, who sold his truck and plow in the spring with plans to buy a new set this winter, but the first heavy snow of the season moved in first.
Rucht picked up a snow blower to get him started, with hopes a plow can finish the job.
"I was hoping there would be some storm chasers around looking to make some money, but not yet," he said.
Hazardous Monday morning commute sees spin-outs, crashes
As the morning commute began Monday, hazardous driving conditions led to spin-outs and crashes thanks to slick, slushy roadways and poor visibility in some areas.
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 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.
Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield advised commuters to reduce their speed, and had a word of caution for anyone who might not have a choice but to get on the roads Monday morning.
"Don't plan on getting to where you're going anytime soon," Fifield said. "Expect it to take extra time to get where you're going."
Fifield also advised motorists to pack water, food, and blankets in case they get stranded. He added that anyone who ends up getting involved in a crash needs to stay in their vehicle until first responders arrive, as getting out of the car and standing around along the expressway can be dangerous and even deadly.
Flights canceled and delayed at O'Hare and Midway
Meanwhile, O'Hare International Airport was closed to non-scheduled operations and general aviation overnight during the snowstorm. A total of 288 flights had been canceled at O'Hare as of 8:50 a.m., while 132 flights have been canceled at Midway International Airport.