CHICAGO _ A winter weather advisory remains in effect until 6 p.m. Monday in much of the Chicago area and northwest Indiana and forecasters say 3 to 6 inches of snow could fall, making for a sloppy commute for those working on the Veterans Day holiday.
Since Monday is a federal holiday, fewer commuters than usual were traveling. But for those without the day off, delays on roadways began accumulating along with the snow. There were early issues with air travel and train lines as well.
An incoming American Airlines flight from North Carolina slid off a runway at O'Hare International Airport upon landing about 8 a.m., according to the airline and Walter Schroeder, a Deputy District Chief with Chicago fire. He didn't know how far the plane slid off the runway but described it as "pretty benign." No one was injured and the plane did not need to be towed from its location, he said.
"It couldn't have been too bad if they didn't have to tow it," Schroeder said. "It happened so quick ... the chief got to the scene and said there's no incident. As far as we know they're all on to their next flight without issue."
An American Airlines spokeswoman, Gianna Urgo, in an email said the flight "slid off the runway due to icy conditions at Chicago O'Hare ... All 38 passengers and three crew members were deplaned from the aircraft and are now safely back in the terminal."
An online flight tracker shows the flight was about 50 minutes late arriving to the gate.
As of 9:30 a.m., 445 flights had been canceled at O'Hare International Airport, while Midway International Airport saw 93 canceled, according to the Department of Aviation. About 630 flights were delayed at O'Hare, the majority of them arrivals; 26 flights were delayed at Midway, half arrivals and half departures.
The Chicago Transit Authority reported issues with both the Brown and Orange lines _ they were being rerouted through downtown _ although the agency said that was because construction that should've concluded early Monday was ongoing Monday morning. Buses were being used for shuttle service between the Brown Line's Kimball station to Western Avenue, the agency reported about 8 a.m.
An inbound train on Metra's Union Pacific North line that should have departed Kenosha at 7:15 a.m. instead left "at Waukegan due to a manpower issues," an alert said. It wasn't immediately clear whether that was because workers had a hard time accessing the Kenosha station.
The Edens Expressway was snow or ice covered, while the Eisenhower and Kennedy expressways were "mostly covered with ice or snow" and other area expressways were partially ice or snow covered as of about 8:30 a.m., according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Chicago's Department of Streets and Sanitation posted on social media about 5:30 a.m. saying it has more than 200 salt-spreading trucks on the streets. Snow plows can be tracked in real-time on the agency's website.
The weather service reported the worst of the commute lag would occur from around dawn to just before noon, with more light snow in the forecast afterward. Drivers are warned to leave for work early, slow down and leave plenty of space on roads with snow, slush and low visibility.
"It looks like it will continue to snow lightly under early afternoon, but the worst of it will be this morning," said National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Ratzer.
A lakeshore flood warning is also in effect from 9 a.m. Monday until 4 p.m. Tuesday. Winds of 35 mph could cause waves up to 11 feet, causing flooding and beach erosion along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Cook County.
Single-digit temperatures are expected Monday and Tuesday as a blast of cold air descends through the Midwest and to the East Coast, meteorologists have said. Wind chills of between 5 and 10 below zero are possible early Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service said.
Commuters walk west on Randolph Street through a mix of light rain and snow in the Chicago Loop as a second autumn snowstorm strikes the Chicago area on the morning of Nov. 11, 2019.
Commuters walk west on Randolph Street through a mix of light rain and snow in the Chicago Loop as a second autumn snowstorm strikes the Chicago area on the morning of Nov. 11, 2019. (Mark Hume / Chicago Tribune)
The Cook County Office of Emergency Management said it will open warming centers throughout the area in anticipation of the bitter cold. A list of available centers can be found here.
"Residents who do not have adequate heating in their homes are encouraged to visit a warming center to ensure they remain safe," an email from Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's office said.
The notice also reminds residents never to use their oven as a heat source and not to bring charcoal or gas grills indoors for heat, as they pose a carbon monoxide threat. If a home cannot be heated appropriately, residents are advised to leave their faucets on a drip to keep pipes from freezing.
Preckwinkle's office also issued an alert about the Monday morning commute.
"The department reminds drivers that because this snowfall is coming so early in the season, they'll have to take even more precautions because construction projects are still underway throughout the county," an email said.
Drivers also are encouraged to keep an emergency kit in each of their vehicles in case they break down or get stuck during severe weather. It should include items such as a shovel, a windshield scraper, a flashlight and batteries, snacks, water, a first aid kit, blankets, warm clothes, jumper cables, salt, and kitty litter or sand, officials said.
