Advertisement

Goodbye blizzard, hello subzero cold

Share

Round 2: The coldest weather in two years.

After getting hit with its third-biggest snowstorm on record, the Chicago area is now under a wind chill advisory. Temperatures are expected to drop to 11-15 degrees below zero Wednesday night, with wind chills down to 25 to 35 below zero.

“It will mark the city’s coldest weather since Jan. 15-16, 2009 when the mercury bottomed out at -13 and -18,” the Chicago Weather Center reports.

The arctic freeze comes as the Chicago area is still reeling from the blizzard: motorists are still stranded, the airports are virtually empty, major roads are closed, Metra trains are running on limited schedules.

Advertisement

A blizzard warning was issued at 3 p.m. Tuesday and cancelled at 1:15 p.m. today. The snowfall total from the storm was pegged at 20.2 inches at O’Hare International Airport, making the Groundhog Day storm the third-largest in Chicago history, according to the weather service.

Other totals include: 20.6 inches in St. Charles, 20 inches in Beach Park, 20 inches in Ottawa, 18.5 inches in Elk Grove Village, 18 inches in Waukegan and 11 inches in Crown Point, Ind.

ComEd was reporting about 48,000 ComEd customers still without power, including 34,000 in Chicago. The utility had restored power to 143,000 customers since the storm began, according to ComEd spokeswoman Tabrina Davis.

“It’s visibility. It’s road accidents. It’s slick, treacherous road conditions,” she said. “Our crews are experiencing that and, given those conditions, restoration times will be delayed.”

The high winds also were hampering emergency crews that continued to rescue stranded motorists this morning throughout the Chicago area.

On Lake Shore Drive, nearly a thousand cars were stranded overnight. Just before dawn, firefighters walked down the line of snow-caked cars, shining flashlights inside to check on any motorists. At 6:30 a.m., fire officials said anyone who wanted to be rescued from their cars had been, though at least one driver disputed that.

Advertisement

Both directions of the drive remained closed as cars were towed away, but officials hope to have the drive open later in the day.

In Lake County, about 30 motorists were stranded after a jackknifed truck brought traffic to a standstill near Antioch.

No major injuries have been reported so far on the roads, but officials say a 60-year-old man pulled from Diversey Harbor early this morning was either blown or fell into the lake at the height of the storm. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 58-year-old Lyons man died after shoveling snow in front of his home. Because the road was impassable, he was taken via police armored vehicle to a waiting ambulance, which took him toLoyola University Medical Center. He died there.

“Residents are urged to use caution when shoveling heavy snow and neighbors are encouraged to check on their neighbors during this historical storm,” said a police statement.

In Kane and Lake counties, authorities found it so difficult to keep up with the number of stranded drivers, they shut down all main roads and begged people to stop trying to drive.

Advertisement

People were getting stuck and requiring rescue all night, but some people are still trying to drive on impassable roads this morning, Lake County Sheriff’s Sgt. Curt Gregory said.

“You’re not going to stop that,” he said. “For the most part we’ve got the majority of it cleaned up.

“Now it’s just sporadic. When people leave home and think they can get through in a Honda Civic, we’ve got to go rescue them.”

By 3:30 p.m., mayor Lake County roads had reopened but officials were asking people to postpone all unnecessary travel until after 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Kane County officials used snowmobiles to reach people stranded along a stretch of road near Hampshire, while Will County officials said they were having problems reaching stuck motorists.

Around 5:30 a.m., Illinois State Police closed lllinois Highway 53 from U.S. Interstate 90 to Lake-Cook Road. There were cars stranded in the road and crews were making rescues, according to a statement.

Advertisement

State police said all other Chicago area expressways were “impassable” and that ramps had three- to four-foot-high drifts.

“Citizen cooperation, restraint in attempting travel and patience are absolutely critical to prevent an unnecessary tragedy during the next 24 hours. Do not travel unless you absolutely have to,” police said.

All roads in unincorporated McHenry County are impassable and people should stay home, the sheriff’s department said. Officials ask that no one travel in the unincorporated areas. If you do travel, “you do so at your own risk,” the sheriff’s office stated in a release.

Snow is drifting up to 8 feet high. Deputies are working 12-hour shifts, and using snowmobiles when necessary.

The department reported no serious crashes or injuries. There was just one reported accident with minor injuries near Woodstock. If drivers do get into an accident, they should file a report later this week.

Because the office is getting a lot of 911 calls, the sheriff asks that people call 911 only for emergencies. Non-emergencies should be reported to (815)338-2144.

Advertisement

About 50 motorists had been aided by the Illinois National Guard, which initially deployed 500 soldiers to help patrol the interstates, primarily working to help stranded motorists, Staff Sgt. Kassidy Snyder said.

An additional 200 soldiers were alerted overnight for duty. The agency also deployed about 140 roving vehicles to dig out vehicles and rescue trapped motorists.

“The main thing is making sure they’re safe and they have phoned someone,” she said. “We’re going to be here helping out the State Police until the state doesn’t need us anymore.”

It was no better on the suburban rails.

Metra said it would have no service today on the following lines: Heritage Corridor, North Central Service, Metra Electric Blue Island Branch, Southwest Service, Union Pacific McHenry.

There will be Sunday service on the following lines: Union Pacific North Line, Union Pacific West Line, Union Pacific Northwest Line, BNSF Railway, Milwaukee District West Line, Milwaukee District North Line, Rock Island District, Metra Electric District - University Park and South Chicago.

Part of the reason for going to a Sunday schedule was because the weather made it impossible for many crew members to get to their jobs, Metra acting executive director Bill Tupper said.

Advertisement

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transport District reported it will run the South Shore line on a partial weekday schedule.

CTA trains were also experiencing some delays early this morning, city officials said. Passengers had to be shuttled between the Howard and Belmont stops on the Red Line Tuesday night because of frozen switches.

Chicago’s two airports remained ghost towns this morning. More than 1,300 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday and 2,500 more were canceled today.
City officials say both airports remain open, however.

Hundreds of schools are closed today, including Chicago public schools for the first time since 1999.

Gov. Pat Quinn has ordered all non-essential state employees to stay home today.

Agencies and offices critical to public health safety will remain open, including veteran’s homes, state centers for the disabled, state police, corrections facilities, juvenile justice centers, emergency management offices.

Even local groundhogs got a reprieve from their annual Feb. 2 prognostications, because we clearly don’t need a glorified woodchuck to tell us that there’s still some winter ahead.

(Follow the storm on the Chicago Weather Center and listen HERE to WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling discuss how bad the storm will be.)

Advertisement