Waukegan, Illinois prepares for snow with North Shore to get hit hard Wednesday
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (CBS) -- The North Shore suburbs of Chicago could see the most accumulation as a snowstorm bears down on Chicago.
Widespread accumulating snow is expected in the late morning and lasting through the afternoon and evening. A winter weather advisory is in effect from 9 a.m. Wednesday until 3 a.m.
Snowfall amounts are shaping up to be around 4" to 6", with localized higher amounts near the immediate lakeshore, especially along the North Shore up to Kenosha County, Wisconsin.
In Waukegan, crews were out ahead of time Tuesday night to make sure the roads would be clear.
While some school districts have called off classes for Wednesday, the Waukegan Community Unit School District #60 was not one of them as of 10 p.m.
But with 6 or more includes expected to hit Waukegan during the day and rush hour, it was all-hands-on-deck Tuesday.
Lamont Ivy and employees with his private snowplow company know it takes salt, and lots of it, to make their job on Wednesday easier. Wednesday, of course, is when they must plow what is expected to be the most snow people in Waukegan have seen this season.
"We've been practicing all winter for this, and now the Super Bowl is coming tomorrow," said Ivy.
Ivy's company has eight trucks and six employees.
Ivy said Tuesday was full of visits to spray the sidewalks and roads with salt for their 16 clients — including Shiloh Towers in Zion.
"[Shiloh Towers] is a senior living facility, so it's a lot of older people and disabled people," Ivy said, "so we have to make sure that they're are able to get out and get up to their appointments."
Alonzo Jenkins with Waukegan Public Works said on Wednesday, the department's fleet of 32 of what they call snow fighters will be out firs thing in the morning.
"You never know what you're going to get when you live by the lake," Jenkins said.
The department plants to treat the roads with sodium chloride, or regular rock salt (NaCl), and another kind of salt, calcium chloride (CaCl₂), before the main system hits between what is expected to be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"We want to make sure that, you know, we don't waste material, still make sure that everybody's safe," Jenkins said.
Waukegan Public Works said with the mild winter last year, it has plenty of salt for the roads. The department also wants to remind people that if they park on a designated snow route, to move their cars Tuesday night or Wednesday morning so its workers can get their jobs done.
