Storm warning downgraded; 700-plus flights canceled
A rare late-winter storm pelted much of the Chicago area Saturday, slickening roads and forcing the cancellation of more than 700 flights at the city’s major airports.
The winter storm warning for Cook, DuPage and Kane counties was canceled about 5:20 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. It was replaced with a winter weather advisory, in effect until 11 p.m.
For the rest of the night, light to moderate and occasionally heavy wet snow was expected to accumulate an additional 1 to 3 inches, and a “period of ice pellets’’ was possible, according to the weather service. Wind gusts were expected to reach 30 to 35 mph, and the snow was expected to cause primarily travel difficulties , including snow-covered roads and limited visibility.
How much snow? Accumulation will “depend on where you are,” said weather service meterologist Amy Seeley. “Really more snow as you go further north.”
Snow was forecast to end by dawn. As of 6 p.m. Saturday, the temperature had dropped to around 32 degrees at O’Hare International Airport.
Saturday’s Chicago White Sox game at Guaranteed Rate Field was canceled, and both major airports were reporting cancellations and delays.
As of 7:30 p.m., O’Hare had 597 flight cancellations and Midway Airport had 135, according to the city Department of Aviation. Both airports reported about 15-minute delays in arrivals and departures. Travelers were urged to contact their airline for specific flight information.
Though it’s rare, springtime snowfall has occurred even later than April. “We’ve had snow in May before,’’ according to Seeley, who said 1.1 inches accumulated on May 1, 1940.
Motorists were urged to allow extra time for travel and extra space between vehicles. “It doesn’t matter that this is April,” Seeley said.
Nearly 170 snowplows were to work through the night, said Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Guy Tridgell.
The pavement was still warm enough that snow was likely to mostly accumulate on grassy areas at first, but that was expected to change as the temperature dropped. “It’s not so much a salting operation as a plowing operation,” Tridgell said.
Highways in Cook County were coated with snow as of 12:30 p.m., but motorists had not reported anything serious so far, said Illinois State Police Trooper Kyle Barrett.
CTA, Metra and Amtrak reported no problems Saturday afternoon.
Heavy, wet snow and ice can cause problems with electrical wires, so “out of an abundance of caution,” ComEd put extra staffing in place because of the storm, company spokesman Paul Elsberg said.
As of midafternoon Saturday, he said there was nothing “out of the ordinary.” Elsberg said the utility was watching the storm carefully and made sure extra staffers were available through Sunday. “We know there is that heavy, wet snow coming.”
On Sunday, conditions are expected to be sunny and in the 40s along the lake and will reach the mid-50s inland. “It will still be cooler than normal,” Seeley said.