Foot of snow expected in Chicago area; hundreds of flights canceled as temperatures drop

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Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas, Chicago Tribune
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CHICAGO — As the Chicago area braced for up to 14 inches of snow Monday, city and county officials sought to reassure residents that Chicago Public Schools will be closed, streets will be plowed, vulnerable residents will be made safe and that help is just a phone call away.

During an afternoon news conference held by a number of city officials including Mayor Lori Lightfoot, administrators implored residents to do their part to ensure everyone is protected. More than a foot of snow could be added to the more than 28 inches of snow that has fallen in the city in the past 19 days, according to John Tulley, commissioner of the Department of Streets and Sanitation.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jake Petr said the snow depth at the city’s official weather station at O’Hare International Airport was 16 inches — meaning a foot of snow has managed to melt despite the deep freeze and that, if another 14 inches does fall by Tuesday, Chicagoans could wake up to a staggering 30 inches of snow.

The city braced for some of the most daunting winter conditions of the season, with all of northern Illinois under either a winter storm warning or winter weather advisory or a wind chill warning or advisory.

“Obviously we know a thing or two about extreme weather here in Chicago,” Lightfoot said. “Our city has had a lot of days like this, even this year. ... This is an all-hands-on-deck moment, and we are ready to make sure our city continues to function even in this extreme weather circumstance.”

Just before 6 p.m., Chicago Public Schools made the announcement that in-person learning would not take place Tuesday. Myriad other colleges and public schools will be closed, including districts in Alsip, Skokie, Matteson, Tinley Park, Oak Forest and Oak Lawn; a full list can be found online at the Emergency Closing Center.

Lightfoot asked for patience as the city deployed 300 trucks to clear some 9,400 miles of road, with a focus on arterial streets before residential side streets, which she called a “massive operation.” She also urged residents to leave their faucets on a trickle to avoid frozen pipes.

“For a lot of us, this is the perfect day to stay inside and read a book … But it also, for many, poses serious challenges to staying safe and getting around,” Lightfoot said.

She laid out the array of services the city was undertaking: calling elderly residents to ensure they know bad weather is approaching; opening warming centers 24 hours a day; reaching out to people experiencing homelessness to ask if they would like to be moved to a city bed and if not, offering blankets and clothing, and reminding landlords of their legal obligation to maintain the heat in tenant units at a minimum of 68 degrees during the day and 66 degrees at night.

“Please do not use your stove or oven as a source of heat — this is when tragedies happen. Call 311 and we will work with you ... We’ve seen too many lives lost,” Lightfoot said.

Chicagoans can help by checking in on neighbors, shoveling for those who are unable and keeping that shoveled snow on the parkways and off city streets.

“These small acts of kindness go a long way and demonstrate why we are a remarkable city of neighbors and neighborhoods ... so please, make sure you step up during this time and check on your neighbors,” she said.

It was so cold Sunday that Chicago broke an almost 80-year record for the coldest, or lowest, high or maximum temperature on Feb. 14, Petr said.

The high of 4 broke the record of 8 degrees set in 1943, he said. “There is some good news in kind of the midrange forecast into, say, the last week or so of February, which should be trending on the warmer side compared to normal, so hopefully we’ll have that to look forward to.”

Then, with a laugh, he added: “But we have to get through this week first.”

Cold isn’t the only concern for the coming week, as there remains the potential for another snowfall event Wednesday into Thursday.

Petr said Monday’s storm technically didn’t qualify as a blizzard, but it came incredibly close to meeting the three main requirements to earn the title: heavy, persistent snow, low visibility and strong, gusty winds, greater than 35 mph, for three or more hours. The first two criteria were met, he said, but Monday could only be described as “blizzard-like” conditions because it didn’t get windy enough in the city.

Just 1.1 inches had fallen by 6 a.m. at the city’s official weather center at O’Hare, he said, but lake effect snow that had been falling in Indiana — dropping more than 8 inches near Valparaiso — shifted to the Illinois lakefront, making it look like a near-whiteout near the shoreline.

Petr expected the narrow bands of lake effect snow to mix with widespread snow from a system that earlier was causing nearly unprecedented snowfall in Texas and Oklahoma that arrived in Illinois by late afternoon.

Regardless of how much snow comes down, conditions are expected to be poor enough that the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications announced that all city-operated COVID-19 testing sites will be closed Tuesday.

“Dangerous travel, heavy snow, and cold temperatures expected. Total snow accumulations through Tuesday morning of 6 to 10 inches. Locally higher amounts near the lake are likely,” according to a weather service alert.

At 11:46 a.m. Illinois State Police said all northbound lanes of Interstate 55 near Joliet in Will County were closed at Route 30 because of a traffic crash. Officials later said a state trooper who responded to help the motorists involved in the initial crash had to be flown by air ambulance to an area hospital after suffering “serious” injuries, according to a statement from state police.

The trooper “pulled behind the wrecked vehicles in the left lane and had the emergency lights activated in order to assist with directing traffic to the right,” an emailed statement said. Then as the trooper sat in his squad car, a black 2010 Cadillac driven by a 20-year-old man who also suffered minor injuries, “crashed into the rear of the trooper’s squad car causing injury.” The two vehicles that initially collided were not hit and the occupants were not injured, officials said.

“This crash marks the sixth (state police) Scott’s Law-related crash year-to-date in 2021 and the second in two days,” the statement said. Scott’s Law requires motorists to change lanes and move away from emergency vehicles stopped on the side of the road. Interstate 55 north at Route 30 was closed until about 3:45 p.m. for the investigation.

The travel concerns aren’t limited to roads, however. At 5 p.m. there had already been 360 canceled flights between the city’s two main airports, 213 at O’Hare and 137 at Midway Airport, according to the city’s Department of Aviation. The majority of canceled flights at each airport was for arriving flights. There also had been 582 delayed flights out of O’Hare, nearly twice as many of which were departing flights rather than delayed arrivals, and 73 delayed flights at Midway, 57 of which were departing.

Petr also said wind chill values will remain below zero for most of the area, although a wind chill warning was allowed to expire at 9 a.m. Areas to the west, such as near the Quad Cities, remained under a wind chill advisory until Tuesday, with the air feeling as cold as 30 degrees below zero overnight, according to the weather service.

In temperatures that cold, frostbite can set in as quickly as 30 minutes, experts said. Coupled with the treacherous driving conditions, which can easily lead to traffic crashes, it’s important for motorists to have easy access to winter supplies in their vehicles if they must travel Monday. According to Cook County spokeswoman Natalia Derevyanny, the Department of Transportation and Highways is monitoring conditions and ready “to deploy all resources necessary to keep the 1,500 lane miles the County maintains safe for drivers.”

In an email, she said a basic safety kit should include:

Shovel

Windshield scraper and small broom

Flashlight with extra batteries

Battery-powered radio

Water

Snack food, including energy bars

Matches and small candles

Extra hats, socks and mittens

First-aid kit with a pocket knife

Any necessary medications

Blankets or a sleeping bag

Tow chain or rope

Road salt, sand or cat litter for traction

Jumper cables

Emergency flares and reflectors

Fluorescent distress flag and whistle to attract attention

Cell phone adapter that plugs into your vehicle

Officials stressed the importance of those items under current conditions because it could take public safety responders longer than usual to navigate slick roads.

“Travel will be very difficult to impossible, with the worst conditions expected late this afternoon through Tuesday morning. The hazardous conditions will impact commutes to and from work. Wind chills as low as 20 degrees below zero may lead to frostbite in as few as 30 minutes,” a weather service statement said in its winter storm warning for Cook County.

Forecasters have been warning of the dangerous conditions since Sunday and have said it’s not likely residents will experience any relief from the harsh temperatures any time soon.

“Tonight, we’re going to slide down to minus 20, so really we won’t see any relief today,” meteorologist Brett Borchardt said Sunday. “Today is a day to stay inside and not expose yourself to these temperatures.”

Lake effect snow already was churning overnight near the Indiana shoreline, increasing snow totals along the lake, meteorologists said.

“The heaviest snow should remain concentrated to areas near Lake Michigan, but a period of heavier snow is also possible Monday night for areas generally south and east of (Interstate) 55,” according to the weather service.

The winter storm warning will remain in effect until noon Tuesday, while the wind chill advisory and the wind chill warning expired at noon Monday.

———

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