At O'Hare Airport the storms threat has some passengers worried.
There were no significant delays Saturday night because of the storm, but that is sure to change in the coming days.
Already many travelers are changing their plans.
Paige Nardi of northwest suburban Cary came home a day early from the East Coast.
"I was gone all week for a conference in dc and wanted to make sure I got home to my husband and two boys," Nardi said.
She's now worried about loved-ones who live in the nation's capital.
"I know at least for my family and friends, they were making sure they did what they could and got to the grocery store to get the key supplies," she said.
Brad Gabardini arrived from North Carolina, one of several states to declare an emergency.
He and a group of friends are attending Sunday's Bears-Panthers game Sunday and are scheduled to fly home Monday.
"Hopefully we'll be able to get home," Gabardini said. "Hopefully there will be no issues, but we don't know yet."
"I'm concerned that I may not get out Monday," said Phil Ricciardi. "But it's alright. I'll stay in Chicago."
Saturday, ComEd crews met for a final safety briefing before fueling up, loading up and hitting the road.
About 700 ComEd workers will be assisting power crews in Philadelphia and Baltimore.
"When we have big events here in the Chicago area, we also get mutual assistance from other utilities and they stay and help us out," said ComEd spokesperson John Schoen. "So we're happy to go help out with our sister utilities in this effort."
The Red Cross of Greater Chicago is also helping out, deploying nine volunteers to the storm zone.
"If needed they're going to help make sure the shelters are in place, and they're going to work with individuals to ensure that they have what they need to weather the storm," said Red Cross spokesperson Gentry Lassiter.
Both American and United Airlines are offering to waive change fees for travelers who want to change flights around the storm. Those airlines' websites have a list of cities that apply.
