Fog created by a mix of warming temperatures and frozen snow on the ground blanketed the Chicago area Monday, forcing hundreds of delays and cancellations of flights at the city`s three airports.
The outlook for air travelers was not expected to improve soon. ”It won`t get any clearer. We are expecting the dense fog to hold at least through mid-morning Tuesday,” said Eric Sawdey of the Central Weather Service.
Meanwhile, the storm that belted Chicago Sunday night moved east Monday, dropping freezing rain, sleet and snow from the Great Lakes to New York and New Jersey. Elsewhere, showers and thunderstorms raged across the lower Mississippi Valley, and in California powerful storms brought floods and mudslides.
The Chicago storm left about three inches of snow at O`Hare International Airport and slightly more in the northwest suburbs, according to the Central Weather Service.
After the snowfall stopped, temperatures in the area began to rise. The overnight low was 28 degrees at 6 p.m. Sunday, and by noon Monday the temperature had climbed to 34 degrees at O`Hare and 33 along the city`s lakefront, the weather service said.
At mid-morning, the visibility at O`Hare had been reduced to one-sixteeth of a mile, the visibility at Meigs Field to zero and the visibility at Midway Airport to one mile, according to the Central Weather Service.
American Airlines canceled 75 flights from O`Hare Monday morning, spokesman Al Becker said. The carrier diverted 18 incoming flights to other cities in the region, including Milwaukee and Cincinnati, he said.
”We`re getting a couple of trips in, but right now it`s a difficult situation,” he said. ”We`re hoping for some improvement this afternoon.”
United Airlines scrubbed about half its morning departures from O`Hare, said Joe Hopkins, a spokesman for the Chicago-based carrier. Departing flights were delayed up to an hour, he said.
United also was diverting inbound planes to Milwaukee, Cleveland, Louisville and Cincinnati, Hopkins said.
At Meigs Field, on the city`s lakefront, no flights had arrived or departed since the airport opened at 6 a.m. Monday, said Robert Dressler, an air traffic controller.
”The only thing that`s going on is the fog rolling by,” he said. The airport remained open for emergency flights, he said.
The warmer temperatures aided state and city crews dispatched after the storm to clear snow from streets and expressways. The Illinois Department of Transportation said all main roads had been cleared by Monday morning, while trucks from the city`s Department of Streets and Sanitation began
concentrating on side streets.
The morning rush hour passed with no reports of serious accidents, but the Illinois Department of State Police reported about twice the normal number of accidents on Chicago area expressways since the snowfall began Sunday.
”There`s been nothing serious, just a lot of skidding and fender-benders,” said Sgt. Elton Self of State Police District 2 in Elgin.
Temperatures in the Chicago area are expected to continue climbing, according to the Central Weather Service. Highs in the upper 30s are predicted for Tuesday, with a possibility of drizzle or freezing rain in outlying areas, the weather service said.
Neighboring areas shared Chicago`s intemperate weather. Up to five inches of snow fell in southern Michigan, while two to four inches fell in Kenosha County, Wis. At least 134 school districts in 16 southern Lower Peninsula counties were closed for the day, Michigan state police said.
In the West, up to 15 inches of snow fell Sunday in Washington`s Cascade Mountains, the U.S. Forest Service said.
