First Snow of the Season Blankets Chicago Area

The first snowfall of the season hit Chicago on Sunday, blanketing much of the area with several inches of snow and causing several hundred flight cancellations.

Several northern Illinois counties were under a Winter Weather Advisory from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., including Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Lake, Ogle, Lee, Kane, DuPage, Cook, LaSalle, Kendall, Grundy and Will. 

DeKalb County was initially under the advisory, but was placed under a more severe Winter Storm Warning that was issued shortly after 11 a.m. and also expired at 6 p.m. [[404622456, C]]

Snow began falling Sunday morning and continued well into the evening, as the storms moved west to east. 

Snow totals were as follows: 

Cook County

O'Hare Airport: 6.4 inches

Midway Airport: 5.5 inches

Alsip: 6.4 inches

Palatine: 5.4 inches

Oak Lawn: 6.0 inches

Lake County

Buffalo Grove: 6.9 inches

Kane County

North Aurora: 7 inches

Batavia: 7.2 inches

Geneva: 6.5 inches

LaSalle County

Somonauk: 7.2 inches

DuPage County

Lisle: 6.7 inches

Downers Grove: 6.9 inches

DeKalb County

DeKalb: 8.5 inches

Kendall County

Plano: 7.9 inches

Oswego: 6.8 inches

McHenry County

Woodstock: 6.3 inches

Bull Valley: 7.0 inches

Will County

Romeoville: 8.1 inches

Joliet: 7.2 inches

Mokena: 5.9 inches

Frankfort: 6.3 inches

New Lenox: 6.5 inches

Crest Hill: 8.0 inches

Winnebago County

Rockford: 6.9 inches

Amboy: 6.0 inches

Lake County, Ind.

Munster: 4.2 inches

Hobart: 4.8 inches

Porter County, Ind.

Boone Grove: 3.4 inches

Valaparaiso: 3.5 inches

The heavy snowfall broke a record, as 6.4 inches at O'Hare shattered the previous Dec. 4 high of 4.6 inches set in 1964. 

The snowstorm caused problems with transit, as 281 flights at O'Hare and 74 flights at Midway were canceled by 9:30 p.m. Delays at both airports were around 23 minutes. 

Lucky for commuters, the snow largely cleared out of the area by Sunday night, making for much safer roads in time to start the work week. 

Monday will be dry throughout the area with high temperatures returning to the 40s.

Our next chance for snow could be as early as Tuesday morning, with a possibility of flurries mixed with showers returning to the Chicago area.

Tuesday evening looks to be dry, with another storm system possibly bringing light snow to Chicago again on Wednesday night or Thursday. Temperatures will also likely drop into the teens mid-week as arctic air moves in.

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