Editor's Note: We're tracking the winter storm all day. You can find the latest weather updates in our winter storm live blog here.
Hundreds of schools, colleges, daycare centers, libraries and more across Illinois were closed Friday due to a powerful winter storm that had already dumped multiple inches of snow across the city and suburbs, with as much as a foot of snow expected to fall in some parts by Saturday afternoon.
The closures range from schools in nearly every Chicago area county and suburb, including Joliet, Wilmette, Elgin, Forest Park, New Lenox, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Niles, Midlothian, Tinley Park, Glencoe, McHenry, Arlington Heights and more.
As of 7 a.m., Chicago Public Schools remained open.
"CPS is currently monitoring the weather situation," a message posted to the CPS website said. "Reminder: CPS schools are open unless the District communicates otherwise."
Later Friday however, CPS stopped short of canceling classes, but moved to cancel after-school activities for Friday and Saturday.
"With winds and snow increasing this afternoon, CPS is canceling after-school and out-of-school activities for both Friday, January 12 and Saturday, January 13," a letter sent to CPS families read. "This includes all athletic practices and games, and all District-run and District-sponsored after-school clubs and activities, including after-care."
The letter went on to say that GoCPS testing at the Illinois Institute of Technology will proceed as scheduled this weekend.
"We know that several schools have activities planned for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday, January 15. However, since extreme cold is being predicted for both Monday and Tuesday of next week, CPS will continue monitoring the weather and will make a decision on both Monday’s events and schools being open on Tuesday as early as possible this weekend," the letter continued.
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Here's how to check if your child's school is closed
There's an easy way to track school closings across the state from public schools to private schools to daycares and more. The Emergency Closing Center lists closures of Chicago-area schools, businesses, daycare centers and other organizations.
Go here to find the full list of Chicago school closings.
You can also navigate to the list from the NBC Chicago homepage menu, under the "weather" section, click on "school closings."
‘Consider postponing travel,’ NWS says
With snowfall rates of 1-to-2 inches of snow per hour being reported across the area, the National Weather Service is urging residents to consider postponing travel because of hazardous conditions.
Additionally, the NWS snowfall reports illustrate how rapidly snow is falling in the area.
In Sugar Grove, it started snowing at approximately 4 a.m. Friday, and by the time a report had been received, there were already five inches of snow on the ground, according to an NWS spotter.
In Joliet, 4.1 inches of snow had already been recorded, and in Oswego, 4.3 inches had fallen.
Latest information on the Chicago snowstorm
You can find our latest stories on the Chicago snowstorm below:
- Live snow radar map: Track weather near you as storm snarls Chicago area
- Snow totals: Latest snow totals in Chicago and Illinois as snowfall as continues
- Illinois winter road conditions: Buses rerouted, crashes reported and more
- Power outages: Tens of thousands of ComEd customers without power amid winter storm
- Flights canceled: Ground delay at O'Hare, thousands of flights canceled across Chicago airports
