The first significant snowstorm of the season blanketed some parts of the Midwest with more than a foot of snow and more was on the way Saturday, creating hazardous travel conditions and flight delays.
While winter has not officially begun, the shovels and snowblowers were out from South Dakota and southern Minnesota, to Iowa, Wisconsin and northern Illinois. The National Weather Service said the snow would continue in Illinois and Indiana on Saturday, as well as move into Michigan before heading northeast into Canada late Saturday.
About 60 miles northwest of Chicago, the village of Capron had received 14.6 inches by midmorning Saturday, spurring village employee Robert Lukes into action clearing sidewalks with his snowblower in the community of about 1,400 people. He said the snowfall was wet, with a layer of slush underneath that made the work slow-going.
“It’s a typical first snow for us, but it’s a pain in the butt. There’s quite a bit of it and it’s kind of difficult plowing and snowblowing,” he said. “It’s a mess, but things are under control. It’s just another snowstorm in northern Illinois.”
Chicago’s O'Hare International Airport had 5.4 inches of snow by daybreak Saturday, which forced the cancellation of about 250 flights in and out of the busy airport, according to the tracking website FlightAware.com. Midway International Airport had canceled about 150 flights.
