(Chicago) The National Weather Service has canceled the winter weather advisory for Christmas Eve and now says a white Christmas is unlikely for Chicago.
The rest of Wednesday is expected to be cloudy, with occasional light rain and a slight chance of light snow showers late in the afternoon, according to the weather service. The high temperature is expected to hover in the upper 30s or lower 40s.
The weather service previously warned that up to four inches of snow could fall over parts of the Chicago area. However, the winter storm ended up moving farther east than expected and the temperatures did not cool down enough.
Christmas Day is expected to be partly sunny with a high temperature around 40 degrees, according to the weather service. Christmas night will be partly cloudy with lows in the lower to mid 30s and slight winds.
Friday will be partly sunny with highs in the mid 40s and a slight chance of light rain or drizzle in the evening, according to the weather service.
Saturday is expected to be mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of light rain or snow, according to the weather service. The highs will only reach the mid to upper 30s.
On Tuesday, American Airlines prepared for the winter storm by offering travelers a penalty-free way to change their Christmas Eve reservations to or from nine airports, including Chicago’s O’Hare International.
Customers ticketed on American Airlines, American Eagle, US Airways or US Airways Express flights on Wednesday will be allowed to change flights without penalty and have the ticket re-issue charge for one ticket change waived.
But they were limited to changing their reservations to as early as Dec. 23 or as late as Dec. 25. Customers are asked to call American Airlines Reservations at 1-800-433-7300 to make the changes.
Flights to or from the following airports were part of the American penalty-free deal: O’Hare (ORD); Urbana-Champaign (CMI); Bloomington-Normal (BMI); Springfield (SPI); Peoria (PIA); Milwaukee (MKE); St. Louis (STL); Grand Rapids (GRR); and Detroit (DTW).
US Airways flights can be changed online at usairways.com/manageyourtrip or by calling 1-800-428-4322.
American’s last such penalty-free change option was offered when a storm hit the northeast on Thanksgiving weekend, American Airlines spokeswoman Leslie Scott said.
Chicago area travelers were urged to monitor weather reports for updates on Christmas Eve and Christmas.
–Sun-Times, Sun-Times Media Wire
