Winter storm hits Chicago; 1,100 flights canceled

CHICAGO (Fox 32 News) - Chicago's latest winter storm is about to bring with it even icier conditions.  Saturday night was expected to be a bitterly cold and windy one with lake effect snow. Whatever wasn’t already shoveled, would likely be freezing up.  

More than a thousand flights were cancelled for the three-day holiday weekend. One plane slid off a snowy runway on Saturday at O'Hare. No one was hurt.

On the roads, crews had a busy night. Still, there were dozens of spinouts. One serious one happened in Algonquin when a limo driver lost control and wound up in the Fox River.

“You got a lot of snow, a lot of wind, you got lake effect snow and then you got a drop in temperature. So this makes it a little rough on everybody,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

By late afternoon Saturday, those who hadn’t already cleared walkways and such were scrambling to get it all done. Still, there was time for play at a West Loop sledding hill. Others think days like these are for the dogs.

“He loves the snow. So it’s been good. It’s been fun,” said Annie Molenda who was at a dog park with her nearly-one-year-old dog, Leo.

A lakeshore flood warning is in effect until Sunday morning. Waves on Lake Michigan could be as high as ten feet. People are being warned to stay off the lakefront path.