Chicago Weather: Snow? Maybe near DeKalb
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Storms ushered in cooler temperatures Friday and rain could mix with snow in some places over the weekend.
"Looks like we'll drop into the 30s tonight, especially in the outlying areas. And tomorrow night we'll be down near freezing. So it's definitely colder," ABC7 Meteorologist Jerry Taft said.
Light showers are expected Friday night and into Saturday.
"Out around DeKalb, in southern Wisconsin, there could actually be some snowflakes mixed in to our system as it moves in our direction," Taft said. " We are not expecting any snow here in Chicago, but it's starting to get colder. It's starting to get to be that season."
In the suburbs, the temperatures could fall into the 30s over the weekend. However, in the city they're expected to stay in the low-to-mid 40s.
By Friday afternoon, restaurants with outdoor patios were pulling out their winter heaters.
"We just had a horrible winter that everybody that I talked to said, 'You know what we're not ready. We don't want to put our shorts away. We want to still enjoy.' . . .so we got the heaters out here, and it's been great," Kelly Hoxie, Crosby's Kitchen, said.
Suzanne Rovner isn't ready to take off her flip flops.
"It didn't get warm until August, for like two days. And that was it," she said.
Runner Matt Dubois ran in a 5K relay at Soldier Field Friday.
"I actually run better when it's cold in shorts," Dubois said. His running companion, Ashley Bartel, disagrees.
"I wanted to wear my UnderArmour! I needed to keep warm. This weather is chilly for me, so I needed layers," she said.
Chicago flights canceled, delayed
The cooler temperatures follow a night of storms that canceled flights, delayed commuters and closed three Arlington Heights schools.
About 200 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport on Friday and those that are taking off and landing saw delays of up to 35 minutes. At Midway International Airport, only a few cancellations, but delays were up to 30 minutes for some flights.
Those delays come after some travelers, like Joni Calkins, spent the night at the airport.
"I slept probably an hour and a half last night in a chair," Calkins said. "I've had a lot of firsts on this trip. And this is my first overnight stay in an airport. I just would say tiring, I guess."
Bleary-eyed travelers are further delayed by an already backlogged air traffic control system trying to catchup from arson at an FAA facility in Aurora one week ago. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta will tour the facility on Friday and meet with lawmakers.
Travelers are encouraged to check flights before heading to the airports and allow for delays both in flight time and at the TSA security checkpoints.
"We had to get up at 4:30 a.m. to get everybody ready to get here. We have a flight that was supposed to be at 7:15 a.m. It's delayed for I don't know how long. It's going to be a long day," said Jeramy Kaiman.
Aquarius Leonard wants to get to Charlotte for the Chicago Bears game.
"Just going to root for my team. Hopefully they win. And I've never been to Charlotte, so hopefully my flight takes off on time," Leonard said. "It could have been a lot worse. It could have been canceled. I'm just hoping everything takes off when they say it's supposed to."
Rain delays drivers, public transit
Commuters also saw delays on area roadways and public transportation. Flooding led to some issues while a downed power line brought the Union Pacific Northwest Line to a stop briefly Friday morning. Other Metra and CTA trains saw delays, as well.
In Arlington Heights, a power outage led to the closure of Thomas, Olive and Windsor schools. All other Arlington Heights School District 25 schools are open.
