Chicago Weather: Spring storm dumps up to 6 inches across city, suburbs

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Some parts of the Chicago area saw half a foot of snow on Monday, making for slippery roads and significant cancellations and delays at Chicago's airports.

On Monday, O'Hare reported more than 500 cancellations and delays averaging an hour, while Midway reported 50 cancellations and delays averaging two hours or more.

The wet, heavy snow left 34 students from Chicago's St. Benedict School stranded in Chicago. They were supposed to leave at 5:30 a.m. Monday for Washington D.C., but by 5:30 p.m., they were still waiting.

"I'm tired. My feet hurt from walking around this airport. We've been in this same spot for 12 hours," said Leonora Asenso, a student at St. Benedict School.

"They were great the entire time. They spent a lot of time on the floor. They've become one with the floor!" said Rev. Jason Malave, St. Benedict Parish & School.

SPRING SNOW

Most of the Chicago area saw between 2 to 4 inches of snow Monday morning, although some areas got around a half-foot of snow. Most of the snow moved out of the Chicago area by mid-afternoon, with the highest accumulations north and west of the city.

Some of the highest snow totals across the area were 6.3 inches in Bull Valley, 5.8 inches at O'Hare, 5.5 inches in Schaumburg, 4.9 inches in Plainfield, 4.4 inches in Naperville, 4 inches in Barrington and 3.8 inches in Woodstock. Lesser amounts were recorded south and east of Chicago, with Peotone picking up just 2.8 inches and Portage getting only 2.5 inches.

Monday's high temperatures were in the low 30s, but temperatures will swing up near 60-degrees by midweek with a thunderstorm expected early Wednesday. Temperatures will then drop back down to the 30s on Friday.

WATCH: ABC7 First Alert Weather Forecast

MESSY COMMUTE

The conditions contributed to several spinouts and accidents across the area. A Jeep lost control and hit a median on I-88 near I-355. A van spun out on I-88 near Route 53 in Lisle about 15 minutes later and came to a rest in the middle of the road. Two cars were involved in a fender bender on southbound I-294, causing traffic delays stretching from Northbrook to Des Plaines.

Illinois Department of Transportation crews closed the exit ramp from the inbound Stevenson Expressway to the inbound Dan Ryan Expressway for salting around 7 a.m. Monday after cars were seen reversing off the slippery stretch of road. The ramp was back open by 8 a.m.

IDOT spokesperson Carson Quinn said about 200 salt trucks were deployed at midnight and will be on area highways through the morning rush. Quinn advised motorists to get an early start, reduce speed and keep a safe distance. Although the warm pavement helps the snow melt faster and makes the salt more effective, the roads are slick.

"As much as we'd like spring weather to be here, we need to keep our winter driving skills handy this morning," Quinn said.

Chicago's Department of Streets and Sanitation redeployed over 270 snow plows and salt spreaders Monday afternoon to neighborhood side streets.

To track the city's full fleet in real time, visit www.chicagoshovels.org or follow @streetsandsan on Twitter.