Over 350 flights canceled at O'Hare as wintry conditions create hazardous morning commute
Snow and icy conditions have sparked several traffic crashes and made for a treacherous morning commute Monday.
Sunday's heavy rain turned to sleet overnight and then snow which was expected to fall on-and-off throughout the day, weather officials said.
"Just take it slow, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to make it to where you need to be," said Rafal Ogorek, a meteorologist with the weather service. "Also be prepared for potentially encountering sharp visibility reductions."
A winter weather advisory was in effect for Cook, Will, Grundy and Livingston counties until 1 p.m., according to the weather service. A blizzard warning was in effect until the same time for Boone, DeKalb, Lee, Ogle, Winnebago and McHenry counties.
O'Hare recorded 1.1 inches of snow while Midway saw 1.6 inches, according to the weather service. Romeoville measured 2 inches of snow and most of the Chicago area got 1-to-2 inches of snow as of 7 a.m.
About a tenth-of-an-inch to an inch of snow was expected throughout the rest of the day, forecasters said.
Over 340 flights were canceled at O'Hare Airport Monday as wintry conditions caused slick roads and reduced visibility impacting morning commuters.
As of 7:15 a.m., over 350 flights were canceled while at least another 150 were delayed, according toFlightAware. At Midway, at least 20 flights were canceled while another 90 were delayed.
State troopers responded to 38 property damage crashes, 10 crashes involving injuries and 34 calls for assistance between midnight and 7 a.m., according to Illinois state police.
Monday's wintry conditions are part of a "strong spring storm" that brought 1.76 inches of precipitation to O'Hare Sunday, making it the wettest March 15 at the airport, according to the National Weather Service. The previous record was 1.43 inches set in 1943.
A strong low pressure storm system moving east was responsible for the rain, winds and snow passing through the Chicago area. The latest stretch of storms came shortly after destructive tornadoes and high speed wind gusts impacted the area last week.
Temperatures were expected to be in the mid-20s Monday with strong winds gusting up to 40 mph creating single digit wind chills, forecasters said. Similar, though less windy conditions with highs also in the 20s were forecasted Tuesday before temperatures return to the 40s and 50s later in the week.
"It's going to feel a lot more like winter," Ogorek said.
"Mid-March tends to be a time of year where we can have when we can experience a wide range of temperatures, so sometimes it'll be it'll feel more like late spring and other times it'll feel more like winter, Ogorek said. "We just happen to be in a period of time right now where we'll be experiencing the colder end of the temperature spectrum."