(CHICAGO) The first blizzard of the season buried Chicago under more than a foot-and-a-half of snow and prompted a flurry of cancellations Monday — among them classes at Chicago Public Schools.
As of 6 a.m. Monday, 19.3 inches of snow had fallen in Chicago, making it the city’s fifth largest snowstorm ever, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Gino Izzi.
The weather service reported snowfall numbers for suburbs including: 16.5 inches in Aurora by 6:55 p.m.; 14 inches in Schaumburg by 7:30 p.m; and 16 inches in DeKalb by 7:35 p.m.
The lake-effect snow is expected to continue throughout the morning over portions of northeast and northwest Illinois, according to the weather service. There will be additional light accumulations with visibility falling to around one mile at times.
More than 350 plows, salt trucks and other pieces of snow-removal equipment cleared arterial streets across the city. Additionally, 150 vehicles have been deployed to focus on clearing snow piles from streets and addressing snow around hospitals, police and fire stations, and schools.
However, Chicago Public Schools students won’t have to worry about that Monday, as all classes are canceled.
CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett cited the forecast in an emailed statement announcing that CPS was canceling classes on Monday. “This level of snowfall will present many challenges for our children. . . . The safety and well-being of our students always comes first.” After-school activities and sporting events also were canceled.
Numerous suburban school districts also canceled classes for Monday, including Joliet Public School District 86; Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202; Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123; Oak Park Elementary School District 97; Naperville Community Unit School District 203; DuPage County School District 45; Des Plaines School District 62; Schaumburg Township Elementary School District 54; Skokie School District 68; Barrington Community Unit School District 220; and Wilmette Public Schools District 39.
The snowstorm and poor road conditions prompted DePaul University to cancel classes on Monday, as well as all City Colleges of Chicago. Columbia College Chicago canceled classes starting before 10 a.m. Monday, but all classes starting at 10 a.m. or later will begin as usual.
Metra posted an alert to their website Sunday night warning that “weather conditions beyond our control” could create delays and service disruptions. As of 5 a.m., no trains were delayed or canceled.
Though Sunday the CTA diverted buses from Lake Shore Drive, as of early Monday all buses had resumed their normal routing on the drive, according to the transity agency.
Ralph McKinney, the agency’s chief transit safety officer, said the agency planned for regular bus and rail service Monday. However, an alert posted to the agency’s website warned of possible reroutes or delays on trains and buses.
Though Divvy bike stations remained opened during Sunday’s snowstorm, customers were encouraged to ride only if it was “absolutely necessary,” according to Divvy spokesman Elliot Greenberger.
Airlines at O’Hare canceled more than 1,300 flights as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday. More than 300 were canceled at Midway. As of 5 a.m. Monday, updated flight cancellations and delays were not yet available.
On area expressways, Illinois State Police officers in District Chicago responded to multiple crashes on the Dan Ryan, Kennedy, Stevenson and Eisenhower expressways, though no major injuries were reported, Trooper John Sieczka said Sunday.
At the height of the storm, suspected weather-related issues plagued more than 54,000 ComEd customers. As of 4:30 a.m., only 2,700 customers remained without power. 550 contracted crews are working to restore power to customers early Monday.
The federal courthouse in Chicago planned to close Monday. Jurors must report for duty on Tuesday, officials said.
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