Chicago area braces for weekend winter storm

Supplies to deal with the impending ice and snow in the forecast are stacked up on Friday at J.C. Licht True Value, 18 S. Sangamon St. | Marin Scott/Sun-Times

With the National Weather Service predicting a hazardous mix of freezing rain and snow this weekend, city officials prepared to deploy a fleet of 287 salt trucks to battle the tumultuous winter conditions.

“There’s a false sense of security when there isn’t a significant amount of snow, and often that can be more dangerous than driving through snow,” Streets and Sanitation Commissioner John Tully said Friday. The city’s salt stockpile is about 350,000 tons.

Up to 4 inches of snow could arrive by late Saturday.

Tully and Deputy Commissioner Cole Stallard said officials will pay close attention to bridges and overpasses, which are prone to black ice.

The city has also placed barricades along the lakefront to deter pedestrians from getting too close to the water, where the National Weather Service predicts gusts of up to 50 mph, with waves ranging from 12 to 18 feet.

Commissioner John Tully of Streets and Sanitation is joined by other workers at the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications to announce the city’s winter preparedness plan for the expected storm over the weekend.

“If you see blue barricades up on our bike path, please stay off the bike path. They’re there for a reason, and we don’t want to mess with Mother Nature,” Stallard said, adding that there will be teams monitoring Lake Shore Drive and Lakefront Trail.

“If something looks bad, looks dangerous, stay away from it.”

During the winter storm watch — from Friday night to Saturday night in northern Cook County and north and west of downtown — city officials have asked drivers to yield to salt trucks and emergency vehicles and allow extra travel time.

Meanwhile Friday, Chicago area residents descended on grocery and hardware stores to stock up on food and cold weather supplies.

“Usually around this time of morning it’s almost empty, and yesterday was pretty packed too, so I feel like everyone is trying to rush in and get more of their stuff…” said Christian Salazar, who works at the West Loop H Mart, 711 W. Jackson Blvd.

Stores like Jewel-Osco, at 370 N. Desplaines St., are stocking up on supplies like firewood to help keep homes warm through the storm.

At the True Value in the West Loop shovels, gloves, snowblowers and pet-friendly salt were going fast.

“[Customers] always come in the day of [bad weather]… but not the large amount of people that maybe should consider before they get snowed in,” employee Linda Zavala said.

While many braced for the expected storm, Tom Soltys said he’s looking forward to taking his dog to the park, since “he doesn’t care” about the snow.

Soltys said he’ll mostly stay inside this weekend, but when it comes to cold weather, he has the same philosophy as his dog.

“I got a four-wheel drive car, so I don’t care,” Soltys said Friday as he waited for his daughter to finish shopping at the Jewel-Osco at Desplaines and Kinzie streets.

“I actually kind of enjoy cruising around in the snow. It’s kinda fun.”