Winter weather alerts are in effect for parts of the Chicago area as snow moves in on Wednesday. 

Gusty snow showers made for a disastrous Wednesday morning commute, with slick roadways from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. Snow showers brought bursts of reduced visibility and strong winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour.

The rapidly falling snow was affecting visibility in Park Ridge at 7 a.m. Snow was also falling steadily in downtown Chicago at 7 a.m., and picked up as the morning rush went on, also affecting visibility.

In some areas Wednesday morning, it wasn't even possible to see across the street.

Alerts are in effect for parts of the greater Chicago area through noon on Thursday. 

A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 8 a.m. Wednesday until 9 a.m. Thursday for Porter County, Indiana.

A Snow Squall Warning will remain in effect until 9:15 a.m. for Illinois counties, including the southernmost part of Cook County as well as Will and Kankakee counties in Illinois, and most of Lake, Porter, Jasper and Newton counties in Northwest Indiana.

A Snow Squall Warning is issued for intense and dangerous bursts of snow that can reduce visibility to .25 miles. Also of concern in the area under the warning are flash freezes on the roads and wind gusts greater than 50 mph, which could knock down tree limbs and send unsecured objects airborne.

The snow was to blame for numerous crashes on Chicago area roadways Wednesday morning, and left traffic at a standstill on major arteries. As of the 9 a.m. hour, two center lanes of the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) were blocked by a crash near I-290. Two center lanes on the Tri-State were also blocked by a crash near Cicero Avenue in Alsip.

DuSable Lake Shore Drive and related roadways were heavy with traffic from Hollywood to 79th Street and beyond.

Meanwhile, a ground stop was in effect at O'Hare International Airport until 8:45 a.m. because of the snow. A total of 20 flights had been canceled at O'Hare as of 9:43 a.m. Wednesday, and delays were averaging 23 minutes. No cancellations were reported at Midway.  

A separate Winter Weather advisory is in effect for southeast and south central Wisconsin — including Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Madison. CBS 58 in Milwaukee reported conditions in southeast Wisconsin were abysmal Wednesday morning — with the snow affecting visibility, and especially with temperatures dropping so wet roads froze over.

The conditions Wednesday morning were blamed for numerous crashes in southern Wisconsin. I-94 west was shut down for a crash near Oconomowoc going toward Madison, CBS 58 reported.

For LaPorte County, Indiana, and other parts of northern Indiana and southwest Michigan, a Winter Storm Warning is in effect until noon Thursday. Heavy lake-effect snow is expected in these areas, with accumulations of 6 inches to a foot.

Locally higher amounts are possible, especially in Berrien County, Michigan, according to the National Weather Service.

Expected snow totals vary widely throughout the area, with only .1 inch in McHenry; .2 inch in DeKalb, Aurora, Joliet, Ottawa, and Morris; .3 inch at O'Hare International Airport, and .6 inch at Midway International Airport and Rensselaer, Indiana. But a total of 1 inch is expected in Gary, while 3.4 inches are expected in Valparaiso, and 6 inches in LaPorte.

For the Chicago area, highs will be in the mid 20s on Wednesday. 

Wind chills will drop to the single digits by Wednesday evening, with gusty winds to make sure those wind chills are felt.