Black ice could plague commute home

Commuters this morning suffered in heavy traffic following about 3 inches of snow in the region, and transportation officials are warning motorists to watch for ice as a deep freeze sweeps in from the west.

"By 8 a.m. it was pretty bad out there," said state transportation spokesman Mike Claffey.

Travel times on some Chicago area highways were 20 to 30 minutes longer than usual for the morning rush hour.

The problem: numerous accidents and snow.

Plow drivers had expected the snow to stop by rush hour, Claffey said, but it just kept coming down.

In all, the storm dropped between 2 and 3 inches across the Chicago area. Additional precipitation is not expected today; however, temperatures will begin falling this afternoon from a late-morning average of 20 degrees.

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