A plow downtown during Wednesday night's snowfall. | Network Video Productions
(Chicago) The lake-effect snow that has already dropped more than 5 inches of snow in Chicago will continue falling through the early evening.
A lake-effect snow warning is in effect until 6 p.m. for Chicago, according to the National Weather Service.
Between 1-3 additional inches will accumulate on top of the 4-8 that had fallen since late Wednesday afternoon. However, the weather service warns accumulations will vary greatly given the lake-effect nature of the snow.
After the snow tapers off in Chicago, it will move into northwest Indiana, where a similar amount is expected to fall.
Blowing snow, reduced visibility and slick roads could lead to a hazardous evening commute, according to the weather service.
The city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation deployed 20 additional quick-hitch plows for the morning commute in addition to the 320 plows and salt spreaders working to clear Lake Shore Drive and other arterial streets, according to a statement from spokeswoman Molly Poppe. Plows will be redeployed to neighborhood streets once the snow stops.
At O’Hare, more than 70 flights have been canceled as of 10:30 a.m. and flights are experiencing delays of 15-30 minutes, according to the city’s Department of Aviation.
At Midway, more than 25 flights have been canceled and more than two dozen flights have been delayed at least 30 minutes.
According to the weather service, the next round of “shovelable snow” is expected to fall Saturday night into Sunday as February turns to March.
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