Periods of heavy snow are expected throughout the evening. Much of the Chicago area can expect to see two to four inches of snow by Friday morning. Areas North and West can expect to see six inches of snow. (Source: WGN TV)
As the Chicago area braced for its first snowstorm of the season, people were being warned to stay off highways and expect widespread power outages as high winds whip up near blizzard conditions in some spots.
The approaching storm was also creating havoc at O'Hare and Midway airports on the eve of the busiest travel day of the holiday season. FlightStats, which gathers data from the Federal Aviation Administration and airport, said nearly 500 flights have already been canceled at the two airports and more than 700 are reporting delays.
Southwest Airlines said it has canceled most of today's flights at Midway.
The long-awaited snow is expected to hit around 3 p.m. as temperatures drop and the winds pick up, the National Weather Service said. The heaviest snow will fall from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. with wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph. Three to 7 inches is expected in the far northwest suburbs, 2 to 4 inches in Chicago and 1 to 3 inches in the south and southwest suburbs.
The weather service says the winds will be the real problem. "We may not get a whole lot of snow but the potential for snowing, drifting and poor visibility is very high," weather service meteorologist Mark Ratzer said.
In its storm warning, the weather service said the greatest chance of near white-out conditions is near the shoreline in Lake and Porter counties in Indiana. The storm warning is in effect from 3 p.m. until 3 a.m. Friday.
In western Illinois and Wisconsin, a blizzard warning is in effect with as much as a foot of snow forecast. Snow could fall 1 to 2 inches an hour around Rockford late in the afternoon, the weather service said.
To the south, a high wind advisory has been issued for Kankakee County. And in Indiana, a lakeshore flood warning is in effect for Lake and Porter counties.
The storm will end a record stretch of 290 days without snow in the Chicago area. This will also be the lastest that the city has seen its first measurable snowfall.
More than 150 flights have already been canceled at O'Hare International Airport, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. At Midway Airport, airlines have nixed more than 30 flights.
United Airlines said it is waiving change fees for travelers scheduled to fly out of O'Hare on Thursday who want to change their plans.
ComEd said it was bracing for power outages because of the storm. The company said it was preparing additional crews and equipment and asking for help from other utilities to respond quickly to outages.
ComEd Vice President Terence Donnelly said the storm was “expected to be especially damaging” to the company's power system because of the combination of wind, snow and ice.
The Illinois Toll Highway Authority urged motorists to stay off the highways this afternoon.
"This weather event is expected to impact most of the tollway system – from Rockford to Chicago – resulting in rapidly deteriorating driving conditions across the entire region,” tollway executive director Kristi Lafleur. “We urge everyone to stay off the roads this afternoon and evening, if possible, but if you must drive, slow down and allow plenty of extra time for the commute home.”
The agency said it was mobilizing its full fleet of 182 snowplows on the 286-mile toll road system.
The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation said it was readying its main fleet of nearly 300 trucks. More than 200 of them are ready to go, and another 150 trucks can be dispatched if necessary, according to department spokeswoman Anne Sheahan.
The city has 285,000 tons of road salt on hand.
The department’s primary concern is icy conditions that could make the evening commute difficult, Sheahan said. She cautioned all drivers to be aware of driving conditions and department trucks out on the road.
The cancellations at O'Hare and Midway are likely to ripple into Friday, when the Chicago Department of Aviation expects 200,000 passengers to pass through O'Hare Friday and about 66,000 passengers through Midway.
The approaching storm dropped nearly a foot of snow in Des Moines. The airport at Creston, Iowa, recorded the highest winds, with a gust of 53 mph.
On the southern edge of the storm system, high winds damaged homes and downed trees in central Arkansas, the weather service said. A powerful storm peeled the roofs off buildings and toppled trucks in Mobile, Ala., but injured no one. Tornado warnings remained in effect in parts of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama early Thursday.
Transportation officials shut down parts of Interstate 29 in Missouri early Thursday, and Interstate 80 in Nebraska remained closed due to blowing snow.
Contributing: Associated Press
chicagobreaking@tribune.com
Twitter: @chicagobreaking
Hundreds of flights canceled as area braces for snow
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Hundreds of flights canceled as area braces for snow
