Snow blasts Chicago: School closings, canceled flights and record-breaking daily total

Chicago weather: First big snow of the season hits Chicagoland

FOX 32's Mike Caplan breaks down today's snowy weather outlook.

CHICAGO - Lake-effect snow raged early this morning across Chicago, setting a daily record for accumulation with impacts being felt well inland and south of the lake itself.

Chicago snowstorm

What we know:

At O'Hare since midnight, 1.2 inches of snow has fallen, shattering the previous record for Nov. 10 that was set in 1991 at .4 inches.

Road conditions across the Chicago area were hazardous throughout the entire morning commute with snow falling at times in excess of 2 inches per hour. There have been only a couple of instances of thundersnow so far.

Snowfall reports have been sparse this early, but somebody located a little north of Valparaiso claims 9.5" had fallen there as of 12:30am. In addition to actual snow, graupel is falling in some areas. These are the "dippin’ dots" that often fall in the heavier bursts of precipitation.

Snow blasts Chicago: Schools closings, canceled flights and impacted roads

A powerful lake-effect snowstorm slammed the Chicago area early Monday, closing some schools, snarling travel and canceling hundreds of flights.

Winds have been strong with a gust out at the crib offshore of 58 mph. The snow band will begin to arc to the east across our area by mid-morning, having deposited 6-12 inches in many areas—obviously less in our western counties.

Plow crews will have a difficult time keeping up with the rapidly-falling snow early this morning and travel is strongly discouraged. This will certainly have adverse effects at airports as well—likely lasting long after the snowfall stops there. On Sunday night, over 250 salt spreaders were deployed across city streets, focusing on Chicago’s arterial routes and DuSable Lake Shore Drive.

Tap here for LIVE Chicago Weather Cameras

Around 5 a.m., the National Weather Service downgraded the Winter Storm Warning for central Cook County to a Winter Weather Advisory with much less snow being expected in the immediate metro. The two "sweet" spots for heavier snow are in northwest Indiana to Kankakee County along with Lake County, Illinois.

Chicago area school closures Monday

The following schools and districts have canceled classes or shifted to E-learning for Monday ahead of the winter storm.

Chicago flights canceled

By the numbers:

Over 450 flights have been canceled at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports in the past 24 hours as snow has locked down the area.

As of 6 a.m. Monday, O'Hare reported 243 cancellations while Midway said 130 flights had been canceled. Both airports reported delays of less than 15 minutes.

Tap here for the latest numbers.

Chicago crews work to clear roads after season's first big snow storm

Cole Stallard, commissioner of Chicago's Department of Streets and Sanitation, breaks down how crews are hard a work clearing city streets during an overnight blast of lake-effect snow.