Weather causes flight delays, cancellations, car crashes
The snow has caused even more delays at O'Hare airport on Christmas Eve, with additional fight cancellations and passengers waiting for a chance to make it to their destionations by Christmas Day.
Airlines have canceled more than 100 flights at O'Hare International Airport today because of the weather. O'Hare was also reporting 30- to 45-minute delays, according to the Department of Aviation.
Midway was reporting no delays or cancellations.
Anybody planning to fly out today should check with airlines for flight status.
Hundreds of holiday travelers also spent the night at O'Hare after the storm on Tuesday forced the cancellation of more than 500 flights.
Area roads have also been plagued by weather-related problems, with numerous crashes and spinouts.
Illinois State Police also reported a major pothole problem on eastbound I-90 near Golf Road and that causing many flat tires. A crew was reportedly dispatched for an emergency repair.
The state police also put its emergency snow plan into effect and were asking any drivers involved in accidents that do not cause injuries to exchange information and report that to the police later.
The snow should be leaving the area in this afternoon, but that will be followed by high winds and dropping temperatures.
Casey Sullivan, meterologist for the National Weather Service, said winds are gusting as high as 40 mph, but they will also drop off before the end of the day.
"As the (snow) ends in the next one or two hours, then we'll see temperatures really drop off," he said.
The temperature will be around 0 to minus-4 degrees Thursday morning, Sullivan said.
The changing temperature has created its own problems on the roads, with a lot of water accumulating. The sudden drop in temperature leaves the danger of icy roads if salt trucks aren't able to get around to them in time.
The temperature will fluctuate again by this weekend, with a warmup and more rain.
"The highs on Friday will be in the lower 40s, so it'll be quite a bit warmer," Sullivan said.
Fire departments have also asked residents to help keep fire hydrants clear in the snow so as not to delay any firefighting calls.