Winter Blast Hits Chicago
(CBS) -- A winter blast has come to the Chicagoland area as rain turned into snow Sunday morning.
The snow began to fall around 5 a.m. Sunday, and the city has deployed its full snow plow fleet of over 280 snow plows and salt spreaders.
They are focusing on larger city streets and Lake Shore Drive to make them safe for drivers and emergency vehicles. To track the progress of the snow plows, visit the city of Chicago Plow Tracker.
IDOT's Carson Quinn says around 400 trucks are working Chicagoland roadways with existing moisture on the pavement a major concern.
"The pavement is wet due to the warmer pavement temperatures, but the overall temperatures have been dropping so there is a high opportunity for freezeback and even black ice," Quinn said.
As of 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Mundelein and Carpentersville each received two inches of snow. O'Hare received 1.3 inches of snow.
Temperatures are expected to fall below zero Sunday and a Wind Chill Advisory goes into effect at midnight until noon on Monday. For information on warming centers, visit the city of Chicago website.
A Winter Storm Watch will go into effect at 6 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday, with that storm potentially dropping 2-6 inches of snow on the Chicago area.
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Law enforcement says the slick roads may have played a factor in a chain-reaction crash on the inbound Edens Expressway, snarling traffic for a time and sending emergency responders to the scene. Two people were hurt in the six-car crash.
There were numerous spin outs and accidents all over the area Sunday, despite salting and plowing.
In one case, people inside a car made sure to let us know they were okay as their car sat in a ditch.
"My wheels went out…I have wheels on here that are probably not great for winter and overconfident and I went off the road," said Aaron Voldmer.
Law enforcement often reminds motorists especially early in the winter season to slow down. Also, give yourself plenty of distance between your car and the car in front of you.
As of 3:45 p.m., 150 flights of been canceled, with delays between 40- 60 minutes, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. At Midway, nearly three dozen flights have been delayed 40 minutes or more.
