Tag Archives: PLOW

More than 400 flights canceled as snow falls across Chicago

Mar 13, 2017 | WLSAM Staff
Snow started falling across Chicago late Sunday. | Network Video Productions

UPDATES WITH ADDITIONAL DETAILS

(CHICAGO) More than 400 flights have been canceled as Chicago prepares for up to 5 inches of snow by Monday afternoon.

As of 3 a.m. Monday, 399 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport and 52 flights had been canceled at Midway International Airport, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. Average delays at both airports were running about 15 minutes.

Snow started falling at O’Hare about 9:45 p.m. Sunday, but less than an inch had accumulated by 1 a.m. Monday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Donofrio.

A winter weather advisory was in effect until 1 p.m. Monday, with between 2 and 5 inches of snow accumulations expected in Lake, DuPage and Cook counties. Visibility will be reduced during periods of heavy snowfall and could make for difficult driving conditions, the weather service warned.

“The intensity of the snow will vary from time to time until (Monday) morning,” said meteorologist Gino Izzi. “It seems pretty likely we’ll be experiencing snow during rush hour, so I would plan on a longer than usual commute.”

Izzi said this will be the first time Chicago has recorded at least one inch of snow since Dec. 17, 2016, marking the city’s longest streak without snow ever recorded during the winter.

Lake effect snow could then develop Monday evening and continue overnight into Tuesday, adding to snowfall accumulations, the weather service said. Lake effect snow, which can produce very heavy snowfall, sometimes in excess of 2 inches per hour, could continue periodically throughout Tuesday morning.

Temperatures were expected to reach a high of about 30 degrees on Monday, the weather service said. The chance of snow was about 100 percent on Monday, with wind gusts as high as 20 mph. A high near 27 degrees was expected Tuesday, with an 80 percent chance of snow.

The city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation deployed 287 snow plows overnight to tackle the snowy weather. The plows focus on salting and plowing arterial routes to ensure the roads are safe before moving to neighborhood streets, if necessary.

While Chicago braced for its first snowfall in months, larger snowstorms were expected on the East Coast. A blizzard watch was issued for the Boston area, with 12 to 18 inches of snow expected to fall over eastern Massachusetts as well as central and southern Rhode Island, according to the weather service.

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Snow trucks sent to clear streets ahead of morning rush

Mar 2, 2017 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) More than 200 snow trucks were deployed across Chicago early Thursday as forecasters predicted snow showers throughout the morning.

Snow began to fall across Chicago about 4 a.m. with minor accumulation expected through about 9 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. The snowfall was expected to resume about 1 p.m. with scattered snow showers throughout the Chicago area.

The snow trucks will focus on salting and clearing arterial routes as well as overpasses, bridges and hills before the morning rush, according to the city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation. The trucks will move to neighborhood streets if necessary once the snow stops and main streets are clear.

Thursday is expected to be cloudy with a high of 35 degrees, according to the weather service.

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Salt spreaders deployed as forecasters warn of freezing rain

Jan 16, 2017 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) More than 200 salt spreaders will take to the streets of Chicago overnight preparing for freezing rain expected to hit the city by Monday morning.

The city will deploy 210 salt spreaders to prevent icy roadway conditions, according to a statement from the Department of Streets and Sanitation.

A light freezing rain mixed with sleet or snow is expected to hit the Chicago area early Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service issued a winter weather advisory for the Chicago area lasting from 5 a.m. to noon Monday with no more than a tenth of an inch of ice expected to accumulate.

The Department of Streets and Sanitation asks people to be “cautious when driving on icy roads and mindful of DSS salt spreaders.”

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City sees 6 inches in first snowfall of season

Dec 5, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) The city dispatched more than 200 snow plows Sunday morning as the winter’s first measurable snow of the season fell.

A new record for Dec. 4 was set at O’Hare International Airport when 6.4 inches fell, according to meteorologist Stephen Rodrigues of the National Weather Service. The previous record was set Dec. 4, 1964 when 4.6 inches fell. The snowfall Sunday was also the highest accumulation of any day in December since 5.5 inches fell in December 2005.

Midway Airport saw 5.5 inches of snow accumulation, Rodriguez said. Some northwest suburbs saw over 6 inches of snow and 8.1 inches was recorded in southwest suburban Romeoville.

The city dispatched 210 snow plows Sunday morning to clear and salt streets, according to the Department of Streets and Sanitation.

Meanwhile, 238 flights were canceled at O’Hare, and 74 were canceled at Midway, according to the city’s Department of Aviation.

It was the first snow accumulation of the season after Chicago’s fourth-warmest fall on record, according to the weather service. The average temperature was about 57 degrees, more than 5 degrees warmer than normal.

For Monday, forecasters predict a high of 34 degrees and cloudy skies, with the potential for dense fog through noon, the weather service said. Dense, freezing fog was possible in the early morning hours, according to a hazardous weather outlook. Light, freezing rain was possible Monday night into Tuesday.

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Update – Lake-effect snow to linger through early evening

Feb 26, 2015 |

         A plow downtown during Wednesday night's snowfall. | Network Video Productions

(Chicago)  The lake-effect snow that has already dropped more than 5 inches of snow in Chicago will continue falling through the early evening.

A lake-effect snow warning is in effect until 6 p.m. for Chicago, according to the National Weather Service.

Between 1-3 additional inches will accumulate on top of the 4-8 that had fallen since late Wednesday afternoon. However, the weather service warns accumulations will vary greatly given the lake-effect nature of the snow.

After the snow tapers off in Chicago, it will move into northwest Indiana, where a similar amount is expected to fall.

Blowing snow, reduced visibility and slick roads could lead to a hazardous evening commute, according to the weather service.

The city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation deployed 20 additional quick-hitch plows for the morning commute in addition to the 320 plows and salt spreaders working to clear Lake Shore Drive and other arterial streets, according to a statement from spokeswoman Molly Poppe. Plows will be redeployed to neighborhood streets once the snow stops.

At O’Hare, more than 70 flights have been canceled as of 10:30 a.m. and flights are experiencing delays of 15-30 minutes, according to the city’s Department of Aviation.

At Midway, more than 25 flights have been canceled and more than two dozen flights have been delayed at least 30 minutes.

According to the weather service, the next round of “shovelable snow” is expected to fall Saturday night into Sunday as February turns to March.

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City deploys 650 snow-removal tools, 300 workers to neighborhood streets

Feb 4, 2015 |

(CHICAGO) The city will deploy 650 pieces of snow-removal equipment Wednesday morning to continue clearing neighborhood streets of the weekend’s historic blizzard and more snowfall from Tuesday evening.

The blizzard had dropped 19 inches of snow by Monday, ranking as Chicago’s fifth snowiest storm.

On Tuesday, 1.6 inches of snow fell at O’Hare Airport between noon and midnight, said Andrew Krein, National Weather Service meteorologist based in Romeoville.

The city’s deployment Wednesday morning will include 315 snow plows and salt spreaders and 335 pieces of heavy equipment, like backhoes and dumps, according to a statement from Molly Poppe, spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation. The city is renting some of the heavy equipment that will be used, Poppe said.

Three-hundred workers from the city’s departments of transportation and water will shovel and dig out snow around schools, parks, bus stops, fire and police stations and fire hydrants, Poppe said.

A “pretty vigorous system” coming in from Nebraska during the day Wednesday could drop heavy snow south of Interstate 80, Krein said. But for Chicago and most area suburbs, less than an inch of flakes is expected, Krein said.

© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC

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