Chicago area prepares for big snowfall (UAL, AMR cancel all flights out of ORD, 700 total/approx)

ChicagoTribune.com ^ | November 30, 2006, 8:43 PM CST | Gary Washburn, Jon Hilkevitch and Richard Wronski

[RunningWolf]

Meteorologists predicted the Chicago area likely would wake up to below-freezing weather and a foot—or more—of snow.

[RunningWolf]

Just heard on AM 890: expecting 13 inches freezing precipitation tonight. UAL and AMR have announced cancellation of all flights for tomorrow at ORD.

[SevenofNine]

Tomkow stay warm LOL!

[blondee123]

I think we will get a foot of ice, no snow here, I'm about 50 miles southwest of Chicago! It's been ice & sleet since 6 p.m. non-stop!

I haven't seen one salt truck out yet!!!

[Jotmo]

I'm usually trying to get to Chicago to go home on Fridays. Glad I'm not this week.

But I'll be shoveling the driveway in the morning. Ug!

[oprahstheantichrist]

Weather.com radar shows it snowing here (Buffalo Grove), but the tapping on the skylight means it's unmistakably freezing rain. Now I get why they cancelled all the flights.

[Jotmo]

I'm in Beloit. (On WI/IL border.) Not a thing yet. Expecting it to get ugly around 3am.

Stay warm.

[blondee123]

It's Pelosi's fault!!!

[Graybeard58]

I'm in Pekin and it looks like we got an inch or two and it's not snowing now.

Maybe a lull?

[RunningWolf]

I am about 10 miles west northwest of ORD. Glad I have a 4WD vehicle and I don't have to work tomorrow.

We are getting a steady precip of frozen rain here right now.

[blondee123]

I looked at accuweather radar & it's showing the freezing rain & sleet moving more over us than before! Sheesh, I'd rather have snow than ice!

[blondee123]

Only thing even 4WD isn't that good on ICE. Like I said, rather have snow with my 4WD, than ice!

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

I was offered a ticket to the Bears/Vikings game a couple of weeks ago.......

1. I knew it would be a cold Sunday in December.

2. I knew the Queens would lose.

I saved a plane fare and humiliation in front of thousands of Bear fans.........

[blondee123]

If I put this radar map in motion, shows the pink going more to the west than shown in this pic. That means more ice for us before the snow!

[RunningWolf]

I am good at driving in it. Think ahead and use the gas to drive out of and around situations LOL.

One time the wind blew me well off into a snow covered (6") worth corn field. I stayed on the gas and kept it going at 30 mph approx and I made it out, lucky me :)

[umgud]

Yeah, we're going thru a cold snap here in central CA too. It was 33 here this morning, but I did run the air conditioner in my pickup by 10 am.

[RunningWolf]

The weather map looks to me like it might not be near as bad as they thought, guess we will see.

[1lawlady]

It took my son 3 hours to drive 30 miles home, which is west of St. Louis. It was plenty dicey for him what with the ice and sleet. He's a California coastal kinda guy, and is new to the Midwest winters. I'm already shivering thinking about going back there for Christmas. I didn't tell him it was 68 degrees here in Santa Maria, CA. But then we have Arnie and half the population of Mexico at my front door, so I guess there is something to be said for the Midwest.

[SoldierDad]

Please be careful RW. The five year I lived in North Dakota taught me that frozen rain is very dangerous. 4WD doesn't help on that stuff. Saw way too many accidents from that type of weather. Cars/trucks/whatever cannot stop when the road is a solid sheet of ice. Yuck!

[blondee123]

The weather map looks like ALL ICE, that is no good!!

[blondee123]

Our deck is over an inch of ice now, sleet keeps coming down, no snow at all yet. It's been sleet for over 6 hours now.