Snowstorm moves in: ‘Wind whipped,’ near blizzard like snow will continue Friday, weather service advises to reconsider travel

Near blizzard snow conditions hit Chicago early Friday morning, leaving hundreds without power, driving on dangerous roads or experiencing a flight cancellation out of the city’s two major airports. The National Weather Service is advising drivers to reconsider travel Friday morning as “wind whipped” heavy, wet snow blanketed much of the Chicago area overnight, and up to seven inches could accumulate on the ground throughout the day.

Advertisement On various stretches of I 80 and I 90, visibility was less than a half mile in the, the weather service said, creating “hazardous to downright dangerous” road conditions. With as much as two inches of snow falling per hour Friday morning and winds up to 35 mph, up to four to seven inches of snow could pile up on the ground by noon, the weather service predicts.

The worst areas are predicted to be near and north of I 80. Advertisement South of I 80 and closer to the lake, snow could transition to rain Friday afternoon. Snow will return throughout the area Friday night into Saturday morning, NWS predicted. Gusts could reach up to 45 mph, with almost zero visibility, and travel could be impacted in the morning.

On Saturday night, wind chills could reach as low as 30 degrees Fahrenheit. More than 96,000 customers were affected by ComEd outages across the city from 2,268 outages, according to the company’s outage map. Airline passengers in Chicago were left scrambling with hundreds of flights were cancelled as of Friday morning at Chicago’s two airports, including more than 700 at O’Hare International Airport, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.

The largest share were operated by smaller, regional carriers SkyWest which operates flight for major carriers like United, Delta and American and Envoy, which operate flights American Airlines. At Midway Airport, 257 flights were cancelled by Friday morning, most of them on Midway’s dominant carrier, Southwest.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued ground stops for O’Hare at times Friday morning because of the weather. Around 8:30 a.m., service was suspended on the CTA Yellow Line to Skokie because of debris on the tracks. Shuttle buses were being provided instead. Five bus routes that typically travel on Lake Shore Drive the #6, #J14, #26, #146 and #147 were rerouted off the lakefront road because of the weather.

Advertisement Among multiple Metra delays Friday morning, trains on Metra’s Union Pacific Northwest Line were stopped near Barrington because power lines in the area were down. The city’s Department of Family and Support services is set to activate warming areas in the city’s six community service centers as temperatures remain below freezing.

The shelters are open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The city encouraged residents to stay inside as temperatures plummet later this weekend. Drivers should travel with a full tank of gas and supplies in case of an emergency. The city deployed 287 salt spreaders Friday morning to address snow and ice.

The city urged drivers to have a full tank of gas before heading out, yield to emergency vehicles and snowplows when driving and to carry an emergency kit with a cellphone charger, food and water. Drivers should also allow for extra time and leave ample space between cars, according to a news release.

Overnight parking bans are also enforced on more than 100 main streets in the city from 3 to 7 a.m. until April to allow enough space for snow removal. Advertisement Due to a strong El Nino, scientists predict that Chicago’s winter will be milder and drier than normal, with Monday’s overnight system the first “significant” storm of the winter.

Tribune reporter Sarah Freishtat contributed to this report..