CHICAGO (WLS) — A band of snow moved into the Chicago area Wednesday morning, creating slick conditions for the morning commute.
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 1 p.m. ET Thursday for La Porte and Starke counties in Indiana and Berrien County, Michigan.
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There is a Winter Weather Advisory until 3 p.m. Wednesday for Lake County in Indiana and until 9 a.m. Thursday for Porter County.
A burst of winter snow blew through Chicago Wednesday morning.
The storm dropped 3 inches of snow in Gurnee, along with 2.5 inches of snow in Arlington Heights, 1.7 inches of snow in Oak Lawn and 1 inch of snow in Tinley Park.
It also sparked a snow squall warning for parts of the area, which has since expired.
Bands of heavy snow are expected to continue Wednesday afternoon, bringing several inches of snow.
Snow will continue through Wednesday night into Thursday morning before tapering off during the day on Thursday.
The weather has created slick roads across the area, with several crashes reported on Interstate 57 in Kankakee County.
It was just after 7 a.m. when precipitation started to come down, and by 7:30 a.m. it was a full-blown winter weather event.
“It’s really crazy,” Treshawn Hill said. “This might be a snowstorm today!”
Little Treshawn Hill was right, as he and his mom dodged blowing snow whipping their face on their way to school.
“I might go to school and throw some snowballs,” Hill said.
Commuters were seen making a run for it to CTA stations as a major snow burst blew through the area. People sprinted to get inside.
Near white-out driving conditions made for dangerous travel, with snow piling onto cars and dropping visibility within minutes. There were also heavy snow-covered sidewalks slowing the morning commute.
“I saw out the window. And I was like, ‘oh it’s not that bad,’ and then ‘whoosh’ as soon as I came outside,” Chris Ross said.
Ross had to hop off his scooter because of the wet pavement.
“Usually, if it’s not too slippery, I can try to push it through. But it was smacking me in the face, and I literally couldn’t see anything. And it is dangerous, right, super dangerous yeah,” Ross said.
“Yesterday it was so warm, and it really did just come out of nowhere,” Nick Flemens said. “I figured why not just do iced coffee. It’s still good even on a day like this.”
“I got like three jackets on,” said Kenny Stratton, who works at Soldier Field. “This weather’s gonna be cold at Soldier Field.”
Stratton said this is just a warm-up for what’s to come on Sunday, when the Chicago Bears take on the LA Rams in the divisional round playoff game.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “It’s Chicago. That’s all it is: Bears weather!”
The conditions led to a ground stop for arriving planes at O’Hare, which has since been lifted.
Temperatures across the area will drop steadily throughout the week.
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