Jan 10, 2009 9:52 pm US/Central
Snow Saturday, Colder Temps Sunday
Area Residents Try To Stay On Top of Mother Nature
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Cars encased in snow. Side streets caked in inches of flakes. The scene is reminiscent of a winter wonderland, adorning a Christmas card. But these are conditions, you really don't want to be in.
"The wind picked up, the snow is still flying – it's bad now," said Chicagoan David Thiese.
The snow that started Friday morning continued through the day and night and into Saturday. By Saturday afternoon, 12 inches of snow fell at O'Hare Airport and almost eight inches fell at Midway.
The snow comes only days after the City of Chicago announced another change to its removal policy.
Last month, the plan was to clear only major streets during a snow storm and get around to the side streets later. But now crews will work until the job is done -- despite budget woes.
With the rapid snowfall, the city had its full fleet of 274 snow-fighting trucks out on the streets since 9 p.m. Friday. The move comes after budget cutbacks shortened worker hours, leaving more snow on city thoroughfares, especially side streets. Streets and San trucks began tackling the side streets at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Kevin Rayborn says he sees a difference.
When asked if he had driven in the snow, Rayborn said, "yeah, just got back and it was slow, but I got from one place to another, so I can't complain."
He said the roads were "as good as you can get for a day like today."
"Side streets could be improved, considering snow is 24 hours a day," said Chicagoan Christopher Lee. "You can't delegate it to the daytime hours, so it needs to be done and it should be done 24 hours a day."
The folks in Des Plaines are doing their best to keep the upperhand after receiving 11 inches of snow Saturday.
Neighbors worked to clear a path that started falling early Friday morning and continued all day.
It's something many consider a bit of a burden. But it's a blessing to some, looking to make a little extra cash.
"I say cool. I want to make some money," said Chance Taylor, who shoveled walkways for cash.
"Yeah, we made like 30 bucks, me and him shoveling," said Odera Eneogwe.
"It's really hard, a lot of hours," said Ray Kaminski of the Cook County Highway Department, about the plowing of snow.
Kaminski drives a salt truck for the Cook County Highway Department. He says he covers about more than 100 lane miles each way on his route, working on 16 hour shifts to help keep other drivers rolling.
"You have to constantly keep on plowing. At least you can keep one lane open, you know, because that's all I can do by myself right now," Kaminski said. "Traffic is not as bad. I'm trying to take out all the turn lanes and the turn ways and then I'll come back two or three times."
For public works drivers in the Village of Des Plaines, it's the same story. They say they have most of the main streets clear and side streets passable.
The snow is easy to push, but difficult to keep up with.
Chad Barney has been busy clearing his driveway; shoveling snow early, anticipating the extreme drop in temperature expected overnight.
"You know, you hear about heart attacks and things like that – anything you can do to make it safer, I guess, you should try and do," Barney said.
"It's the volume -- it just kept coming and coming. I think we got about a foot. We're used to 6 or 8, 9 inches, but a foot? Then you're talking trouble," said Ed Paprocki of the Des Plaines Public Works Department.
Cook County says countywide, they have 65 drivers who can be up and running at the same time. Fourteen of those drivers are in the county's second district.
Now that the snow has stopped though, there's another challenge to deal with – all the stuff left on the street could freeze, especially by midweek when temperatures drop and we get windchills of 15-20 below. So officials are telling drivers to take it easy, while driving on the roads.
State police reported many accidents throughout the area that can be attributable to the inclement weather, including one woman who was killed Saturday morning in a two-car crash on the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) near west suburban Woodridge.
Mayor Daley says to cut costs he's looking at using environmentally friendly salt. It costs a lot less and will reduce pothole production on the city's streets.
A snow plan has been issued for all of Cook County and several surrounding counties, which means ISP will only be responding to accidents with personal injury or non-drivable property damage, according to an ISP release.
A motorist in drivable property damage crashes should exchange information in a safe location and make a report at the nearest State Police District within seven days.
Motorists are urged to use extreme caution when driving, slow down and allow plenty of time to make it safely to their destinations while yielding to emergency vehicles including highway maintenance vehicles displaying oscillating, rotating or flashing lights, the release said.
Scott's Law requires a driver to change lanes, if it is safe to do so, or reduce speed and proceed with caution when approaching a stationary emergency vehicle displaying flashing warning lights, the release said.
ISP indicated that hazardous conditions are expected to continue and issued the following safety tips motorists should adhere to:
--Plan ahead and makes sure before leaving that your trip is necessary;
--Don't crowd a snow plow and remember the operator's field of vision is restricted;
--Watch out for black ice and roads that appear treacherous and take it slower when approaching intersections, off-ramps, bridges and shady areas because they are all prone to icing;
--Dress warmly and in layers of loose-fitting, lightweight clothing in anticipation of emergencies;
--Make sure someone is aware of your travel route;
--Always keep an emergency car care kit that contains jumper cables, flares or reflectors, windshield washer fluid, a small ice scraper, traction material, blankets, non-perishable food and a first aid kid;
--Always carry a cell phone and wear a seat beat.
Streets and San also warned residents to shovel early, as temperatures are expected to plummet overnight, which will "freeze up" existing snow and slush. Residents are asked to pile their snow on the parkway where grass is located.
"Under no circumstances should anyone place snow in the street. It is both illegal and dangerous," Streets and San spokesman Matt Smith said in a statement. "If you have a neighbor who is elderly or disabled, please be a good neighbor and at least cut a path for them."
Air travelers had to contend with the havoc the weather has played on their plans as well. As of 8:30 p.m. Saturday, there were 100 cancellations at O'Hare and delays averaging about 45 to 60 minutes, according to the Department of Aviation. At Midway Airport, delays averaged 45 minutes, but only a few cancellations have been reported.
More than 2,000 North Side Commonwealth Edison customers lost power briefly Saturday night too, due to weather.
At 7:38 p.m., 2,100 ComEd customers lost power between West Belmont Avenue to the north, West Belden Avenue to the south, North Wolcott Street to the west and North Orchard Street to the east, according to ComEd spokeswoman Kim Johnson.
By 8:45 p.m., power had been restored to all but 30 customers, Johnson said. Power is expected to be fully restored by 9:30 p.m.
Once power is restored to all customers, investigators will determine a cause of the outage, Johnson said.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot, Pamela Jones and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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