Chicago Area Misses Out On Big Snow Predictions, Gets Only A Dusting
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago area got only a light dusting of snow overnight, after forecasts called for as much as 4 to 6 inches in some northwestern suburbs.
While the snowfall on Thursday ended Chicago's record streak of 290 days without measurable snow, at only two-tenths of an inch at O'Hare International Airport, the city is still amid one of its longest streaks without getting at least an inch of snow.
Friday was the 301st day in a row that there wasn't at least an inch of snowfall in Chicago, the eighth longest such streak in the city's history.
The meager snowfall left few people needing to shovel snow, but plenty needing to scrape off their cars when melted snow froze overnight, coating many cars in frost and ice.
Heavier snow totals were seen in western Illinois and downstate, with some totals between 3 and 5 inches -- and even 8 inches in Galena.
It has also been the second longest stretch in Chicago history without a high temperature below freezing, at 300 days in a row. Although temperatures have dropped into the mid-20s, the city already established a high temperature of 33 degrees at midnight. The city also went 300 days without a high temperature below freezing in 2004.
The light dusting of snow could still create problems on the roads, because wet pavement could freeze in some places, especially on roads that are not regularly salted.
