UPDATES WITH FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS AND DELAYS
More than 250 flights were canceled at O’Hare and Midway airports Tuesday morning and thousands of ComEd customers remained without power after a wintry mix of sleet, freezing rain, snow and high winds pummeled the Chicago area Monday.
CLICK HERE TO CHECK FLIGHT STATUS AT MIDWAY OR O’HARE.
About 1.9 inches of snow was recorded at O’Hare International Airport by the time the snowfall tapered off, according to the National Weather Service. At 2:45 p.m. Monday, wind speeds reached up to 42 mph at the airport.
As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, more than 245 flights had been canceled at O’Hare and 24 flights had been canceled at Midway, according to the city’s Department of Aviation. Airlines at both airports were reporting “minor” delays.
On Monday, nearly 1,360 flights were canceled at O’Hare and more than 300 flights were canceled at Midway.
The storm also disrupted ComEd service to nearly 88,000 customers. As of about 7 a.m. Tuesday, about 11,500 customers were still without electricity across the Chicago area, according to ComEd. More than 560 crews were out working to restore customers as of the same time.
The largest concentration of outages occurred in the south and western regions, including Lee, LaSalle, and Livingston counties. The utility issued a statement early Tuesday saying majority of the affected customers should expect their service restored by Tuesday evening.
The city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation deployed more than 280 snow plows and salt spreaders Monday. The department said it will continue to monitor the weather and adjust resources as needed.
The State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield was activated Monday to ensure that state personnel and equipment are ready if needed to help local emergency responders deal with flooding and winter weather, according to a statement from Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office.
“Road conditions are hazardous in many areas of the state, so if you can postpone travel plans today that would be best,” IEMA Director James Joseph said in the statement.
The Illinois State Police Chicago District invoked its emergency snow plan. Motorists involved in minor crashes are encouraged to exchange information and file a report in the next 14 days.
