Tom Skilling: Tonight’s Snowstorm Could Be Biggest Yet

By Chicago Tribune

Feb. 5–A major winter storm could dump as much as 14 inches of snow in the Chicago area overnight, threatening to make a mess of the Wednesday morning commute.

It is the fourth significant snowfall in the last two weeks and could be the biggest yet, WGN-Ch.9 meteorologist Tom Skilling said.

Current indications gleaned from more than a dozen computer models indicate 5 to 10 inches in the city, while areas just north and northwest–including McHenry, Lake, Ogle, Winnebago and even much of DeKalb and Kane Counties–may see as much as 14 inches.

“In addition, the potential for some embedded thunderstorms within the snow area isn’t out of the question,” Skilling said. “The intense bursts of snowfall such thunderstorms produce could produce locally higher totals, even in the city.”

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning that will go into effect at 6 p.m. Tuesday and last until 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The storm is likely to reach peak intensity in the hours before daybreak and through much of Wednesday morning, Skilling said. Strengthening northeast winds are predicted to reach 20 to 30 m.p.h. with gusts, increasing the risk for some blowing and drifting snow.

Farther south of the city, the changeover to snow will occur much later, and accumulations are likely to taper quickly to as little as 1 to 3 inches, Skilling said.

The latest anticipated storm comes a day after dense fog caused extensive disruption at the city’s two biggest airports. Many travelers whose flights were canceled Monday at Midway Airport and O’Hare International Airport were scrambling to find replacement flights to escape the city before the next wave of bad weather moves in.

For most of Monday afternoon, Midway Airport was virtually shut down, with only three flights departing all afternoon; airlines canceled a majority of flights, aviation officials said.

Conditions at O’Hare, though less severe, still caused delays and cancellations, as extremely poor visibility and a low cloud ceiling limited the ability of planes to take off and land. In total, more than 500 flights were canceled at O’Hare on Monday, and 475 were canceled at Midway, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.

Weather service meteorologist Gino Izzi said the heavy fog resulted from the combination of Sunday’s snowfall and Monday’s mild temperatures, which ranged from the mid-30s to lower 40s.

Airlines also warned that the cancellations could cause problems Tuesday and urged customers to check before going to the airports.

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