Winter weather advisory in effect

Heavy snowfall over night coupled with freezing drizzle early Tuesday is playing havoc with the morning commute, officials said.

A winter weather advisory remains in effect until 10 a.m. in the Chicago area. At that point, temperatures will climb above freezing and help melt some of the 2 to 5 inches of snow that fell over night, officials from the National Weather Service said.

However, before that happens, police and fire crews were kept busy responding to multiple spin outs in Lake, McHenry, Cook and DuPage counties. The worst seems to be a head-on crash in Barrington that shut down Route 22 at 7:30 a.m.

Illinois State Police put their emergency snow plan in effect, telling drivers in minor accidents with no injuries to exchange information and file any police reports later.

Huntley and Elburn was reporting 5-inches of snow fell overnight before the rain started to fall. Algonquin was reporting about 4 inches of snow, Lake Villa was reporting just under 3 inches, while Aurora, Batavia and villages in northern Cook County reported between 2 and 3 inches of snow overnight.

O'Hare International Airport reported 2.5-inches overnight, but the freezing drizzle is causing delays this morning. O'Hare officials said 75 flights have been canceled since last night, whereas all flights are delayed 45 minutes or longer.

However, all eyes are watching the weather for Christmas. Meteorologists claim a 60 percent chance of snow to blanket the areas sometime Friday morning and continue intermittently through Christmas Saturday.