CHICAGO — Chicagoland area residents awoke Monday to some of the most daunting winter conditions of the season, with all of northern Illinois under either a winter storm warning, winter weather advisory or wind chill warning or advisory, forecasters warned.
As much as 1 to 2 inches of snowfall per hour also could accompany the bitter cold, which in some areas could feel like 20 below zero, according to the National Weather Service. It was so cold Sunday that Chicago broke an almost 80-year-old record for the coldest or lowest, high or maximum temperature on Feb. 14, said Jake Petr, a meteorologist with the weather service.
“Last night we did issue a record event report for O’Hare, where Sunday had a record low high temp, which was 4, officially, and it breaks the previous record of 8 degrees set back in 1943,” he said. “There is some good news in kind of the midrange forecast into, say, the last week or so of February, which should be trending on the warmer side compared to normal, so hopefully we’ll have that to look forward to.”
Then, with a laugh, he added: “But we have to get through this week first.”
Cold isn’t the only concern for the coming week, as there remains the potential for another snowfall event Wednesday into Thursday. And by the time Monday’s storm — capable of creating blizzardlike conditions — winds down Tuesday morning, some area residents can expect as much as 14 inches of snow from this latest winter installment — although forecasters expect most areas to get a more conservative 6 to 10 inches from Monday to Tuesday.
Early Monday, many downtown workers and residents had a preview of what’s to come areawide later in the day, when visibility dropped to less than a city block, Petr said. Just 1.1 inches had fallen by 6 a.m. at the city’s official weather center at O’Hare International Airport, he said, but lake effect snow that had been falling in Indiana — dropping more than 8 inches near Valparaiso — shifted to the Illinois lakefront, making it look like a near-whiteout near the shoreline.
Petr expects the narrow bands of lake effect snow to mix with widespread snow from a system that earlier was causing nearly unprecedented snowfall in Texas and Oklahoma and was bearing down on Illinois with an afternoon or early evening arrival.
Regardless of how much snow comes down, conditions are expected to be poor enough that the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications announced that all city-operated COVID-19 testing sites will be closed Tuesday.
“Dangerous travel, heavy snow, and cold temperatures expected. Total snow accumulations through Tuesday morning of 6 to 10 inches. Locally higher amounts near the lake are likely,” according to a weather service alert.
The travel concerns aren’t limited to roads, however. By 11:45 a.m. there had already been more than 220 canceled flights between the city’s two main airports, 102 at O’Hare International Airport and 122 at Midway Airport, according to the city’s Department of Aviation. The majority of canceled flights at each airport was for arriving flights. There also had been 350 delayed flights out of O’Hare, nearly twice as many of which were departing flights than delayed arrivals, and 40 delayed flights at Midway, 33 of which were departing.
Petr also said wind chill values will remain below zero for most of the area, although a wind chill warning was allowed to expire at 9 a.m. Areas to the west, such as near the Quad Cities, remained under a wind chill advisory until Tuesday, with the air feeling as cold as 30 degrees below zero overnight, according to the weather service.
In temperatures that cold, frostbite can set in as quickly as 30 minutes, experts said. Coupled with the treacherous driving conditions, which can easily lead to traffic crashes, it’s important for motorists to have easy access to winter supplies in their vehicles if they must travel Monday. According to Cook County spokeswoman Natalia Derevyanny, the Department of Transportation and Highways is monitoring conditions and ready to deploy its fleet ready “to deploy all resources necessary to keep the 1,500 lane miles the County maintains safe for drivers.”
In an email, she said a basic safety kit should include:
— Shovel
— Windshield scraper and small broom
— Flashlight with extra batteries
— Battery-powered radio
— Water
— Snack food, including energy bars
— Matches and small candles
— Extra hats, socks and mittens
— First-aid kit with a pocket knife
— Any necessary medications
— Blankets or a sleeping bag
— Tow chain or rope
— Road salt, sand or cat litter for traction
— Jumper cables
— Emergency flares and reflectors
— Fluorescent distress flag and whistle to attract attention
— Cellphone adapter that plugs into your vehicle
Officials stress the importance of those items under current conditions because it could take public safety responders longer than usual to navigate slick roads.
“Travel will be very difficult to impossible, with the worst conditions expected late this afternoon through Tuesday morning. The hazardous conditions will impact commutes to and from work. Wind chills as low as 20 degrees below zero may lead to frostbite in as few as 30 minutes,” a weather service statement said in its winter storm warning for Cook County.
Forecasters have been warning of the dangerous conditions since Sunday and have said it’s not likely residents will experience any relief from the harsh temperatures any time soon.
“Tonight, we’re going to slide down to minus 20, so really we won’t see any relief today,” meteorologist Brett Borchardt said Sunday. “Today is a day to stay inside and not expose yourself to these temperatures.”
Lake effect snow already was churning overnight near the Indiana shoreline, increasing snow totals along the lake, meteorologists said. At some point Monday that was expected to shift west, which will lead to higher snowfall amounts on the Illinois side of Lake Michigan.
“The heaviest snow should remain concentrated to areas near Lake Michigan, but a period of heavier snow is also possible Monday night for areas generally south and east of (Interstate) 55,” according to the weather service.
The winter storm warning will remain in effect until noon Tuesday; the wind chill advisory and the wind chill warning expired at noon Monday.
