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Long sleet storm causes accidents, flight delays

Sleet and snow made for a miserable Monday, with a storm that lasted several hours longer than initially anticipated.

Kane County sheriff's Lt. Patrick Gengler said the department had the same heavy load of calls for help as if there had been a blizzard.

“Anything north of Main Street in Batavia and west of Randall (Road) is horrible. Route 47 has been an issue for the last four hours. One car gets stuck, then the road gets blocked,” he said Monday night.

More than 1,600 flights at O'Hare and Midway airports were canceled as of 9:15 p.m., according to the Chicago Department of Aviation. More than 700 others were delayed, and the department recommends checking in with individual airlines for specific flight information.

And some libraries, day-care centers. churches and other facilities have closed early and canceled evening activities, according to the Emergency Closing Center. Those include St. Mary Catholic Church in West Chicago and Trinity Lutheran in Roselle.

The National Weather Service issued warnings for the winter storms — most notably extending a winter weather warning until midnight in McHenry, Lake and Kane counties. It said we should expect 1 to 3 inches of snow and sleet to accumulate.

ComEd reported electricity outages throughout the suburbs.

“There are no significant outages, but crews are on standby and out in the field dealing with scattered outages,” said ComEd spokesman Alejandro Bodipo-Memba.

A crash occurred at 10:55 a.m. Monday in the Northwest suburbs, when a Ford Escape sport-utility vehicle flipped onto its side on northbound Route 53 north of Rand Road. Fortunately, there were no injuries in the rollover, authorities said.

In Kane County, Route 47 was closed between routes 38 and 64 around 3 p.m. due to ice accumulation.

Additionally, flood warnings have been issued for this week for parts of Lake, Kane and McHenry counties.

According to the National Weather Service, recent and expected rainfall may bring the Fox and DuPage rivers above the flood stage.

Minor flooding is expected for the Fox River at Montgomery from this morning until Saturday afternoon. With a flood stage of 13 feet, water levels will likely rise to a peak 13.2 feet early Wednesday.

A flood warning is in effect for the Fox River at the Algonquin Tailwater starting late today. The National Weather Service forecasts minor flooding by early Wednesday.

The Des Plaines River near Gurnee, where the flood stage is 7 feet, is expected to rise to nearly 7.5 feet by early Wednesday morning. The flood warning is in effect “until further notice.”

A flood warning is also in effect for the Des Plaines River at Russell starting late tonight.

The river is expected to rise above the flood stage by Wednesday afternoon and continue rising until Friday.

For precautionary reasons, the National Weather Service advises travelers to find an alternate route if they encounter flooded roadways.

• Daily Herald staff writers Erin Hegarty and Eric Peterson contributed to this report.

  An Illinois Department of Transportation plow spreads salt on Route 83 in Mundelein Monday as light snow and sleet fell in Lake County. Traveling was treacherous for the morning commute with several accidents occurring due the icy roads. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
  Cory Bowen of Buss Landscaping in Libertyville spreads salt along the drive at McLean-Fogg in Mundelein Monday as light snow and sleet fell in Lake County. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
  McNelly Services workers Nick Larsen, right, and Julio Ascencio clear sidewalks Monday at The Grove Shopping Center in Buffalo Grove. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
  A snowplow clears the way Monday along Main Street near 15th Street in St. Charles. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
  The driver of a car that spun out on westbound I-88 in Lisle and ended up facing the wrong direction Monday checks the damage after hitting the median wall. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
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