Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Midway Airport was closed Friday evening due to visibility problems, the city's aviation department said.

The airlines flying out of Midway notified the city they were canceling all flights in and out, Aviation Department spokesman Gregg Cunningham said.

"Fog is so bad at Midway that flights cannot depart or arrive," he said.

He said the shutdown at Midway – expected to last overnight into the morning – affected 82 inbound and outbound flights, or 14 percent of daily operations at Midway.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines estimates its number of canceled flights is larger, about 100 flights, according to spokeswoman Olga Romero.

Based on expected warmer weather Saturday morning, "We believe we should be up and running tomorrow after 8 a.m. in the morning, but not before that," Romero said.

Accommodations, including cots, were made for passengers who had no other place to spend the night. Flights were expected to resume Saturday morning, but passengers were advised to call their airlines.

Delays at O'Hare on inbound and outbound flights were averaging 90 minutes and more than 400 flights have been canceled.

Commuters can expect flight cancellations and possible flash flooding Friday night into the weekend, as temperatures continue to rise and rain hits the area.

The National Weather Service has issued a dense fog advisory, which will remain in effect until 9 a.m. Saturday, for northern Illinois and northwest Indiana -- including Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Winnebago, Boone, Ogle and Lee counties.

A potentially dangerous flooding situation has been forecast for the weekend and a flash flood watch is in effect from late Friday until Saturday evening for several counties in northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, according to the weather service.

An emergency meeting was convened Friday afternoon to plan for the massive flooding, and Cook County President Todd Stroger is poised to declare the region a disaster area. The meeting included officials from the Cook County Emergency Management Agency, Cook County Highway Department and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.

"We know the potential for flooding is very serious, and it was urgent that we marshal all our resources and put our agencies on high alert immediately," Stroger said.

Cook County officials are particularly worried about areas in a flood plane that include Des Plaines, Palatine, Mount Prospect, Morton Grove, Elk Grove Village and Park Ridge.

Laszlo Klinko doesn't want to hear about flooding. He's just now moving back into his Des Plaines home after high water forced him out in September.

"The walls had to be removed, complete electricity redo, heating, air conditioning completely redo," he said of the damage to his home.

The thought of going through it all again so soon almost makes him sick.

"My stomach was kind of like… and elevator," Klinko said.

And it worries city officials, who are well aware the forecast calls for 1 to 3 inches of rain and warming temperatures, which will cause the existing snow and ice to melt. Frozen ground can't absorb the water, which is why the area is under a flood warning.

"The worst case scenario would be if we had some issues dealing with the river," said Executive Director of Des Plaines Homeland Security Mike Kozak.

For now, it does not appear it will be a problem and the river remains below flood stage. That means they can concentrate on clearing hundreds of snow- and ice-covered storm drains so water has a place to run.

The suburb is also stockpiling sand for one big bagging effort, just in case.

Ice-covered mounds of plowed snow continue to block many of the city's 250,000 catch basins, causing the melting snow to puddle, with nowhere to drain.

In a race to fight off significant flooding, the city Department of Water Management has dispatched crews to clear as many basins as possible.

"The big problem is the big snow humps sitting on the basins, cars are on top of 'em, we have to move the cars to move the humps and then let the water run," Rich Mossman of the Dept. of Water Management said.

Additional water crews are fast at work sandbagging in Albany Park where the North Branch of the Chicago River flooded earlier this year. Residents there are on edge.

"When I see the guys down there with the sandbags, somebody knows the water level's going to go up," Albany Park resident Linda Carol.

The city is asking residents to help by clearing snow from basins in front of their homes.

An unseasonably moist and warm air mass will continue to lift northward across northern Illinois through Saturday morning. The warm air and increased moisture will be effective in melting the snow and ice, which will lead to dense fog formation.

Drizzle is expected Friday evening and then showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Widespread dense fog with visibility expected to be less than one quarter of a mile and as low as a few hundred feet in some areas.

Temperatures are expected to be much warmer with lows in the lower 40s, according to the weather service.

On Saturday, rain and occasional thunderstorms are expected with areas of dense fog in the morning. Temperatures are expected to be in the upper 50s.

Widespread flooding is expected as thunderstorms will produce rainfall totals of 1 1⁄2 to 3 inches from Friday night into Saturday, the weather service said.

In addition to the heavy rain, warming temperatures will cause existing snow and ice cover to rapidly melt -- increasing run off that will already be very high because of the thawing of frozen ground, the weather service said.

Snow Command will make 50 snow fighting trucks available beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday to clear out pockets of ice and snow from sewers and catch basins on our main streets and side streets, at the discretion of the ward superintendents. The trucks are expected to remain out until approximately 2 p.m. Saturday, Streets and Sans said.

CBS 2's Vince Gerasole, Kristyn Hartman and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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