Chicago Weather: Area digs out from another round of snow
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago area is digging out from another round of snow Wednesday morning, with the threat of more snow coming Thursday night and Friday.
In the city 1.2 inches of snow had fallen at Midway, with O'Hare getting 1.6 inches of snow as of 6 a.m.. In the suburbs, Downers Grove received 2.1 inches of snow, Algonquin received 2 inches of snow. In northwest Indiana, Crown Point received 2.5 inches of snow.
In the western suburbs, Michael Joy and his puppy Dallas were enjoying the snow, digging out the driveway.
"This is pretty light and fluffy. This hasn't been too bad but I guess we're supposed to get some heavier snow. So I'm looking forward to it. Hasn't been much this year," said Joy, a resident of Oakbrook Terrace.
Anywhere between one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half inches fell from Naperville to the Oak Brook area. Brad Berkshire has a commercial landscaping and snow removal company. He welcomes this weather suffering through a few years with low snow totals.
"It's not good for anyone that's in the snow business. Last couple years hasn't been that good so, but we're lucky to get it when we can and more to come," Berkshire said.
The snow made for a nightmarish morning commute along the I-88 corridor. Slick, snow covered roads sent drive times soaring, and the Chicago area is in for another round of Thursday night into Friday, when a Winter Storm Watch will go into effect, dumping as much as five to nine inches of snow.
"I love it. It's nice it's so light. It brings a smile to your face because it's winter, we're supposed to have some snow," said Anna Wisniowski of Oakbrook Terrace.
Meanwhile in the city, the Department of Streets and Sanitation was busy clearing the streets.
"If this was London, it would have shut down already. Definitely can't deal with this kind of snow," said United Kingdom native Jen Snelders.
Snelders, a Wicker Park resident, gives the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation an A+ for their work Wednesday morning.
"Not bad at all and obviously I think the infrastructure here is pretty phenomenal in terms of taking care of it," Snelders said.
She and others were thankful that they missed the morning's crawling commute on the expressways and the accidents that are bound to happen with the slick conditions.
The Department of Streets and Sanitation tackled the main roads first and then shifted their fleets to the side streets at about 9 a.m., and many of those residential streets are still in desperate need of some help.
"It can always be worse, so set your expectations low and you're usually happy," said Wicker Park resident John Vaughn.
Wicker Park residents had some work on their plates. Leonard Freeman spent two hours behind the snow blower. But he says it could be worse.
"The snow was maybe 3 inches, 2 to 3 inches, blowing all over the place. It wasn't as bad as it usually is, but it's Chicago so what are you going to do?" Freeman said.
But everyone had the same advice: stay ahead of it as much as you can.
"Shovel as much as you can every day. I know there's more coming, so I'll be out here again tomorrow or on Friday," said Kyle Sneed.
At the city's airports, O'Hare has had 28 flight cancellations and Midway has had 47 flight cancellations as of 9:30 a.m.
