Chicago weather: Snow blankets suburbs while city gets hit with sleet

Snow in the Chicago area overnight has closed several schools, canceled flights and caused a headache for morning commuters.

The continuous fall of snow, rain and sleet will prove difficult for traveling throughout the day and tonight. 

At about 3:09 p.m., O'Hare International Airport issued a ground stop due to snow and ice and said it would be in effect until 4:30 p.m. Then, around 4:09 p.m., O'Hare issued a ground delay, which ended around 8:30 p.m.

As of 8:30 p.m., there were 229 cancelations at O'Hare and 42 at Midway.

The National Weather Service extended the Winter Storm Warning for the north and western suburbs until early Wednesday. The Winter Weather Advisory for Cook County and several southwest suburbs was extended as well. 

The first heavy hit happened during the morning commute with rapidly deteriorating road conditions expected.

Snow will continue at varying intensities well into the night. Some rain will mix in south and near the lake, but a widespread 3 to 7 inches seems likely with higher amounts possible over our far northwestern viewing area. 

After about 3 to 4 p.m., we will slowly see the rain and snow line shift from around I-55 to the east. The Winter Weather Advisory in northern Cook, Dupage, Kendall and Grundy counties will last through 4 a.m. Wednesday – where 2-4 inches of snow are possible. 

As we get a little further west, the Winter Storm Warning for Lake, McHenry, Kane, DeKalb and LaSalle counties was extended until 4 a.m. Wednesday – where 6-9 inches of snow is possible. Our high today will be in the upper 30s. 

Wet heavy snow could weigh down some tree limbs and power lines, so outages could occur. This will be most likely tonight when the winds crank. Gusts to 40 mph will be common.  

Tomorrow will be mainly cloudy and windy with highs close to freezing. Tomorrow night into Thursday morning a quick hit of light snow is likely. Maybe an inch.  

Then, we eyeball the next biggie for major impacts Friday into Saturday. This will be all snow and perhaps higher totals. Strong winds will couple with drier snow leading to greater concern for drifting.  

Following this, it will be cold and I mean real cold. Highs Sunday and Monday may not reach double digits.

Chicago-area school closings

Although no schools in the City of Chicago have reported closing due to weather, several districts in the surrounding suburbs have shut their doors today or transitioned into e-learning.

Real-time list of local school closings.

Chicago canceled flights

Over 100 flights have been canceled as of 11 a.m. at Chicago airports.

O'Hare Airport has reported 97 cancelations, while Midway Airport has reported 35. Both airports have been experiencing mild delays of about 15 minutes. 

The City of Chicago website has real-time information on Chicago airport cancelations.

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