Chicago weather: Fast-moving storm makes for messy commute in south suburbs, NW Indiana

Winter storm warning, weather advisory expire

ByGreg Dutra, Evelyn Holmes, Tre Ward, and ABC7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Saturday, March 4, 2023
Fast-moving storm makes for messy commute in south suburbs, NW Indiana
A snow storm made the evening commute in Northwest Indiana and the south suburbs messy and treacherous, but largely missed the rest of the area.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A snow storm made the evening commute in Northwest Indiana and the south suburbs messy and treacherous, but largely missed the rest of the area.

The evening commue got messy in the south suburbs ad Northwest Indiana as a fast-moving winter storm slickened roads and reduced visibility.

Around 4 p.m., a wall of heavy snow had lined up essentially along I-55, ABC7 Meteorologist Greg Dutra said, concentrated mainly south of the city, curling around the city of Chicago to the south and southeast.

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But the storm moved at a very fast clip, racing through Northwest Indiana and leaving a coating of slushy rain and snow mix behind.

"Everyone seems taking extra care, which is kind of a nice thing, instead of driving through a Winter Olympics of northwest Indiana driving," said commuter Laura Van Gorp.

The storm made the evening commute treacherous; heavy snow slickened roads and reduced visibility. Drivers were warned to slow down, leave plenty of distance, stay out of the way of snow plows and salt trucks, and generally exercise caution.

The snowfall forced some drivers, like Lavell Thompson of Gary, to pull over at a gas station in Meillville to brush off from his car what his windshield wipers could not handle.

"We've been trying to drive slowly just so we don't, like, crash into anyone," he said. "I have to brush some of this snow off immediately because it's piling up. Like, it's crazy."

And while the winter storm moved out quickly, work for some snow plow crews is not over.

"We have a count set, probably, closed around 3:30, so we haven't touched them at all. And, we'll make sure that we go and take care of them before the overnight happened because temperature are supposed to drop. That will freeze the snow, make it harder for us to scrape down the concrete," said snow plow driver Quince Ballas.

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