CHICAGO – No matter where you were on Saturday, you were likely impacted by this first big heavy snowfall. Roads at times treacherous to drive on. But the biggest problems were for people trying to fly in or out of Chicago.
What we know:
A trying day for travelers at Chicago’s airports. Passengers gathered under the flight information boards with fingers crossed, but the news was not good. Flight after flight were either delayed or canceled altogether. By Saturday night, 1,169 flights had been canceled at O’Hare International Airport and 246 at Midway Airport. That’s roughly 40% of the scheduled takeoffs and landings on the day holiday travelers begin heading home. Delays at O’Hare ran for about an hour.
The roads were not much better. Plows struggled to keep up with the heaviest snowfall in the afternoon.
In Northbrook, a car slid into a ditch near Dundee and Waukegan. A family was helped out of a van that skidded off the roadway in Winnecka.
An IDOT spokesperson said some areas are better than others.
“It depends on where you are. I mean some of the area expressways are looking where it’s more wet pavement,” said Maria Castaneda. “As you get in, a little bit more south, down on 55, closer to the Joliet area, you’re still having some snow, especially in those middle lanes. As soon as the snow storm hits, we become a 24/7 operation. So we don’t we just change over shifts, but we don’t go home until everything is cleaned up.”
In the city, the story was much the same. Streets and sanitation deployed all 240 of its salt and plow trucks with an initial focus on the main arterial roads.
“We just did a switch, so we got a fresh group on for overnight,” Chicago Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Cole Stallard said. “We’re gonna continue to focus on our main streets to get those safe and passable. Right now, it looks like we’re catching a little bit of a break. They were busy all afternoon, but we’re doing some curb work, some centers and we’re still we’re still a little slushy in spots. So please give it give yourself enough time to get to places.”
On Michigan Avenue, holiday shoppers hunched against the wind and the stinging snow.
IDOT also confirmed that troopers are transporting stranded motorists along I-80 to local hotels.
And also a snow-related reminder that starting at 3 a.m. Monday morning, Chicago’s overnight parking ban begins on 107 miles of city streets. From December 1st to April 1st, cars are not allowed to park between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. on those designated streets.
The city usually tows hundreds of cars when that ban first goes into effect.
The Source: This story contains reporting from Fox 32’s Dane Placko.
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