In preparation for a significant winter storm that will upend travel for the Chicago area just ahead of the Christmas holiday, officials from ComEd joined city officials Wednesday morning in announcing steps taken to be ready for the storm's impact.
Strong winds, bitterly cold temperatures and moderate-to-heavy snow is expected for much of Thursday and Friday, with gusty winds continuing through Saturday.
A winter storm warning will be in effect for the entire Chicago area by 3 p.m. Thursday, with some suburban counties going under a warning as early as 9 a.m.
The warning will remain in effect until 6 a.m. Saturday.
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ComEd announced Wednesday that their emergency operations center will open at 5 a.m. on both Thursday and Friday.
"Leading up to that we've already begun positioning equipment and scheduling crews so that we can be in the best position possible to respond to any interruptions. We've also secured an additional 350 line workers from other utilities who will be on the system helping with restoration," a ComEd spokesperson said.
ComEd also reminds residents to avoid downed power lines, and to always assume a downed power line is dangerous and energized.
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Customers who lose power during the storm can text 2266333 to report their outage and receive restoration information and updates.
According to recent forecasts, it appears the timing of the storm has shifted earlier, with travel conditions expected to be treacherous for the evening commute across the area.
Things will "rapidly" worsen heading into Thursday afternoon, with snow growing more widespread and becoming stronger.
According to ComEd, priority is given to restore critical facilities such as police and fire stations, hospitals and nursing homes, followed by work that will restore power to the greatest number of customers.
While snowfall is expected to dissipate in the overnight hours heading into Saturday, high winds will persist on Christmas Eve, still presenting potential travel hazards for much of Saturday.
