Chicago [US], January 13: Wind-whipped snow hit the Chicago area Friday morning, leaving thousands without power and leading to near thousand flights cancellation.
As of Friday morning, the western and southwestern suburbs of Chicago, the third most populous city in the United States, had received 4 to 7 inches of snow. Northern areas closer to Chicago had received 2 to 3.5 inches.
With as much as 2 inches of snow falling per hour Friday morning and winds up to 35 miles per hour (mph), up to 4 to 7 inches of snow could pile up on the ground by noon, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing the National Weather Service (NWS). It is expected to be the most severe storm so far this season.
Snow will return throughout the Chicago area Friday night into Saturday morning, the NWS predicted. Gusts could reach up to 45 mph, with almost zero visibility.
There are 2,268 power outages reported across the city, affecting more than 96,000 customers, according to ComEd's outage map.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued ground stops for Chicago O'Hare International Airport Friday morning because of the weather. More than 700 flights at the airport have been cancelled. At Midway International Airport, 257 flights were cancelled by Friday morning.
In downtown Chicago, five bus routes that typically travel on the Lake Shore Drive were rerouted off the lakefront road because of the weather.
Amtrak has canceled multiple trains in and out of Chicago Union Station.
Chicago Department of Family and Support Services has activated warming areas in the city's six community service centers, encouraging residents to stay inside as temperatures plummet later this weekend. People are advised to stay indoors as conditions may worsen and visibility will decrease with the rising snowfall.
Chicago City Government deployed 287 salt spreaders Friday morning to clear snow and ice.
According to the NWS, a winter storm is sweeping through U.S. Midwest and Great Lakes on Friday and into the weekend. Nearly 30 million people, mostly in the Midwest and around the Great Lakes, were under a winter storm warning early Friday. Over 3.5 million people in the region were under a blizzard warning.
Source: Xinhua
