Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― A violent snowstorm clobbered the Chicago area Friday morning, leaving the roads engulfed in a dangerous sheet of snow and ice and cutting power to tens of thousands.

During the morning rush, the state issued a stern warning to motorists: Stay off the roads unless travel is absolutely necessary.

SLIDESHOW: Images From The Storm

"We are literally at the point where we are pleading with the public to stay home," said IDOT spokeswoman Marisa Kollias. "The streets are like sheets of ice. It is a mixed storm; it's almost as if there are little ice pellets that are hitting my face when I stepped outside my house, and I will tell you, it's dangerous."

IDOT rarely tells motorists to stay in altogether. Kollias said it has been about two winters since they last did so.

"This is a situation even for IDOT; we [had] 355 crews out this morning," Kollias said. "We're not going to win this war. We're just trying to keep up."

By 11 a.m., the snowstorm had pulled out of the Chicago area, leaving upwards of 10 inches on the ground in some areas.

But in the early morning hours, the precipitation was flip-flopping between snow and freezing rain in much of the Chicago area. The freezing rain left a significant coat in south suburban areas, compromising tree limbs and power lines. By 7 a.m., the precipitation had turned all to snow in most places.

As of 11 a.m., snow totaled 10 inches in Island Lake, 5.2 inches in Arlington Heights, 5 inches in St. Charles, 3.9 inches in Des Plaines, and 0.5 inches of ice in Streator.

The storm also brought widespread power outages to the Chicago area. There were 22,927 ComEd customers without power as of 11 a.m., almost all in the south ComEd region from Midway International Airport to Northwest Indiana, according to spokeswoman Alicia Zatkowski. ComEd dispatched 270 crews to help restore power.

Spokesman Jeff Burdick said it was too soon to determine when power would get back to normal.

"Even though the weather has passed us, we still have wind, and this icy buildup on trees and branches that continue to come down, and so we expect additional outages throughout the day as that weight has its effect on the trees," Burdick said. "But anyone who does have an outage, they are asked to call our 1-800-EDISON-1 line and report it as soon as possible."

In northern and Northwest Indiana, NIPSCO reported a total of 58,000 customers without power as of 11 a.m. Monticello, Crown Point, Gary, Hammond, Valparaiso, Plymouth, Goshen and LaPorte were the hardest hit, NIPSCO said.

Downstate, Ameren Illinois Utilities was working Friday afternoon to restore power to 35,000 customers, most of those in the area from Macomb to Peoria, Bloomington, Lincoln and into Champaign.

South Suburbs Encased In Ice
The south suburbs didn't get as much snow as some areas. But there was a smorgasbord of precipitation, including snow, ice pellets and freezing rain. It was the ice that caused the most serious problems on the roadways.

Navy man Avery Carter is home on Christmas leave, and had a rough commute.

"We were driving all over the place, sliding and stuff – it's crazy out here," Carter said. "I haven't been behind the wheel in a long time."

Leo Sanders also suffered through a miserable commute.

"Some spots, you can get through very easily if you take your time," he said. "Other spots, they haven't even plowed the roads."

Snow plows were out in force after sunrise, laying down salt to attack all the ice on the roadways.

Ice is especially worrisome for medical rescue teams.

"We're as careful as we can; we have patients in the back, so we try not to turn too hard and lose control, but it's definitely difficult," said ambulance driver Steve Tepper.

Mike Napora was resigned to getting in late for work in the Loop at 6:30 a.m.

"I'm going to State and Lake downtown. I'm coming from Tinley Park," Napora said. "It's ice, all ice. It's just terrible. It's real hard; it's make the commute a real long time also. I think they're doing a decent job on the highway with the plowing, but not on the side streets, obviously."

Parker observed some thunder with the sleet in the south suburbs.


Getting Anywhere A Dicey Proposition
Lettisha Ervin's car spun out and ended up in a ditch on the Kennedy Expressway at Cumberland Avenue. But she said she considered herself lucky, since her car wasn't seriously damaged after a near-collision.

"Somebody cut me off and I tried to avoid them, and I slid into this ditch," Ervin said. "It is horrible, horrible. They cleaned the left side of the expressway; the right side of the expressway is not cleaned. I got forced into the right side, and I swung into the ditch."

While some were stuck off the road, others were stuck right in the middle of it. A northwest suburban woman got stuck on Arlington Heights Road.

Some people were lucky enough to miss the storm altogether. Patricia Sellers monitored the storm from school in Wisconsin, and then drove home ahead of it Thursday night.

"I was getting updates," Sellers said, adding that she had made the right call in coming home, even if it meant shoveling snow with her mother. "I don't want her to do it by herself," she said.

With more than eight inches of snow in the driveway, Sellers' mother said she was glad her daughter was home safe and sound, as they shoveled the driveway to the accompaniment of "Holly Jolly Christmas" by Burl Ives.

"We've got the music going, we're in the mood, and we're doing it," she said.

In the Loop Friday morning, some people who drove in from the suburbs were pleasantly surprised at the relative ease of it.

"The highway was fine. No complaints at all," one man said. "Almost made the same time as I generally do."

Streets in the Loop were plowed early in some cases, and the IDOT plows were on the ready.

No Conveyance Safe From The Snow
For those who can take public transportation, Metra, the suburban rail agency, said Thursday night it could accommodate extra crowds.

But frozen wires posed a problem on the Metra Electric Line. Metra shut down service south of Kensington on the line, and delays were reported all the way downtown.

By 1:40 p.m., trains were running all the way to University Park again, but fewer trains were running and runs were being combined. Read More

The CTA said it would be ready for commuters, too, but cautioned that riders should give themselves extra travel time in the storm. 

"The CTA is running its regular weekday schedule for bus and rail, but because of the snow, we're expecting a much slower and messier commute, so we're asking customers to please allow extra travel time," said CTA spokeswoman Kim Myles.

Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman Karen Pride warned travelers that delays are likely at O'Hare and Midway international airports.

The department said more than 100 flights were canceled at O'Hare by early afternoon Thursday. More than two dozen had been canceled at Midway . Passengers at both airports are warned to arrive at least two hours early.

Check back right here at cbs2chicago.com for the latest traffic and weather conditions.

CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli, Mike Parker, Susan Carlson, Ed Curran, Derrick Blakley, Kristyn Hartman, the STNG Wire and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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