Chicago Weather: Snow ends as colder temperatures move in
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A winter storm that hit portions of the Chicago area with more than 13 inches of snowfall tapered off Sunday afternoon, making way for cold conditions Monday morning.
ABC7 Meteorologist Phil Schwarz said, "Temperatures will be down around 0 degrees and wind chills will be as low as -15 degrees. In some of the colder outlying areas, the mercury could approach -10 with wind chills to -20 degrees. There could be some black ice for the morning commute thanks to the extreme cold and the pavement still wet from the snow early Sunday."
Chicago has recorded measurable snowfall every day since Feb. 3, tying a record for the longest such stretch that's only been matched twice since 1885, the National Weather Service said.
As of 4 p.m. Sunday, 222 flights were canceled at O'Hare and 265 flights were canceled at Midway, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation and delays averaged less than 20 minutes.
Most of the main roads are cleared in the city and suburbs, but many of the side streets and sidewalks are still covered after nine straight days of snow.
The city's Streets and Sanitation Department has been at it nonstop. On Sunday, salt spreaders moved into the city's residential neighborhoods with the exception of alleyways.
"We do not plow alleys. What we will do tomorrow is have our refuse crews track those alleys. If you plow alleys you end up blocking in garage doors and that we don't want to do," said Streets and Sanitation Commissioner John Tully.
In a press conference Sunday, Tully asked local business owners to refrain from pushing snow onto public sidewalks and corners in an effort to keep walkways safe for pedestrians.
CITY, SUBURBS SHOVEL OUT
The snow has stopped, but that means it's time to break out the shovels.
Sarah Beckette decided now was the best time to finally dig out her car and help dig out some of her neighbors' cars in Chicago's East Village neighborhood.
"We took Ubers all weekend because we did not want to dig the car out," said Sarah Beckette. "I heard it was supposed to get a lot colder tonight, so it would be a lot easier shoveling soft snow versus ice."
RADAR: TRACK THE STORM WITH LIVE DOPPLER 7 MAX
Brianne Sander said she is just ready for winter to be over.
"It's more of a nuisance and trouble, you gotta wear your boots and gloves and put on all your layers, it's not fun to me," said Sander.
The sentiment was the same out in the western suburbs. Neighbors there said they've been trying to clear out their driveways and walkways for days, only to have more snow accumulate.
In Skokie, alternate-side parking was put into effect for at least two days from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. On odd-numbered calendar dates, all vehicles are required to park on the side of the street with odd-numbered addresses, and vice versa.
Skies cleared in the afternoon with a gusty northwest wind up to 20 mph with a high of 25 degrees. Sunday night will be clear and cold with temperatures dropping to a low of 4 degrees.
The southwest suburbs were hardest hit by the relentless storm. Romeoville saw 13.7 inches of snowfall by Sunday afternoon, while Crest Hill recorded 14.3 inches of accumulation, the weather service said.
In addition, Midway International Airport clocked 13.3 inches of snowfall since Thursday, while O'Hare International Airport recorded 12.3 inches, the weather service said.
The southwest suburbs were hardest hit by the storm. As of Friday evening, Frankfort had seen 12.8 inches of snow, while Lemont had recorded 12 inches by 2:30 p.m. and Joliet had gotten 11.2 inches by 6 p.m., the weather service said.
Flychicago.com has a complete list of carriers and their contact information.
Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
