Heavy, wet snow blankets Chicago, suburbs

March 5, 2013 (CHICAGO)

"The winter storm warning is in effect until midnight across the area," ABC7 Meteorologist Jerry Taft said.

The snow started falling Tuesday morning, and continued throughout the day, making for a messy afternoon rush hour.

"Five inches on the ground in a lot of places, up to 10 inches in some spots," Taft said. "Some of the heaviest snow [is] in DuPage and Cook County, stretching over into portions of Indiana."

Most of the Chicago area will get between 5 and 9 inches of snow. It's the snowiest day of the season.

"[It is really dense, great for a snowball fight, maybe, but not the snow you want to be shoveling," Taft said.

High wind speeds made for low visibility. Before noon Tuesday, airlines had already canceled more than 1,000 flights at Midway and O'Hare airports.

Chicago and suburban municipalities have their snow-removal plows and trucks out on the streets.

"We are prepared as a city to deal with this snow," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at an OEMC news conference.

The snow will taper off Tuesday around 9 p.m.

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