Winter Season Now Fourth Snowiest On Record
(STMW) -- The city deployed 200 snowplows to main streets Saturday afternoon as snow continued to fall, making the 2013-2014 winter season the fourth snowiest on record for Chicago.
Up to 6 more inches are expected to fall across the area by Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
As of 6 p.m., six-tenths of an inch of snow had fallen at O'Hare International Airport, bringing the total for this season up to 69.5 inches, according to the weather service. The third snowiest winter on record was the 1969-1970 season, when 77 inches fell.
The city's Streets and Sanitation department deployed 200 snowplows and salt spreaders to arterial streets and Lake Shore Drive Saturday afternoon, according to a statement from spokeswoman Molly Poppe. The plows will move to residential and side streets once the snow stops and main streets are clear.
The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for the Chicago area beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday that will remain in effect until 9 a.m. Sunday. The heaviest snowfall will occur Saturday afternoon, with the possibility of up to one inch accumulating per hour, according to the weather service.
Between 4 and 6 inches of snow are forecast to fall across the area Saturday afternoon, with up to 8 in areas near Lake Michigan, according to weather service forecasts. The high temperature is expected to climb to the mid-20s, while the low will be between 8 and 12 degrees.
There is a chance of more snow Sunday, and the wind chill could drop to minus 15 Sunday night as gusts are expected to reach 30 mph, according to the weather service.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
