CHICAGO (WBBM/STNG) - Another brutally cold day is in store for the Chicago area
Roads are icy throughout the region. State Police are responding to numerous weather-related crashes and stalled vehicles throughout the Chicago area early Friday, including one crash involving a squad car.
A wind chill warning remains in effect until noon today.
As of 5:30 a.m., the mercury read -17 at O'Hare International Airport, -15 at Midway Airport, -27 in Joliet, and a polar -30 in Aurora. But the incredibly cold temperatures were being met with winds of 6 to 10 mph, for painful wind chills of -32 at O'Hare, -31 at Midway, and -51 in Aurora.
The dangerous takes only a short time to freeze skin and cause frostbite, as well as hypothermia.
The WBBM AccuWeather forecast calls for a mostly sunny, brisk and bitterly cold day with a high of 0 (zero) degrees.
Plan for dangerous "realfeel" wind chill temperatures between 20 and 30 below this morning, and between 10 and 20 below this afternoon.
Tonight, look for a bit of snow toward dawn and slowly rising temperatures.
Tomorrow, expect an inch or two of snow, slippery roads and a high of 24 degrees.
In Chicago, State Police have responded to an unusually high number of crashes -- including one involving a squad car.
About 2:30 a.m., State Police responded to seven separate crashes involving 15 different vehicles on the Ontario feeder ramp from the outbound Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94), according to Illinois State Police District Chicago Trooper Ivan Bukaczyk. Six cars were towed, but nobody was injured.
About 3:15 a.m., a State Police squad car was struck as it was responding to a crash on the northbound Kennedy Expressway near Armitage Avenue. The trooper was in the car, but was not injured or hospitalized, Bukaczyk said.
The Bishop Ford Freeway (I-94) near 159th Street and the inbound Kennedy Expressway near North Avenue and Division Street have been especially difficult, Bukaczyk said.
In the west suburbs, State Police had to close to temporarily close the northbound lanes of the North-South Tollway (I-355) at Lake Street near northwest suburban Addison early Friday because of ice, according to Illinois State Police Elgin District. The Illinois Department of Transportation responded and the lanes were reopened a short time later.
In the southwest suburbs, State Police have responded to a lot of minor property crashes since midnight, according to Illinois State Police Joliet District Master Sgt. Cheryl Lisy, who said parts of Interstate 80 and Interstate 55 are especially slick.
State Police reported few crashes, but lots of broken down vehicles early Friday on the tollways, according to Illinois State Police Tollway District.
The Illinois Tollway Department has enacted its Zero Weather Road Patrols, a 24-hour service dedicated to searching for motorists stranded in their disabled vehicles when temperatures or wind chills drop below zero, according to a department release. The patrollers will also respond to calls that come into *999, Illinois Tollway dispatch or Illinois State Police Tollway District.
The Zero Weather Road Patrols consist of crew cab trucks equipped with arrow boards for directing traffic around accidents or stranded vehicles, the release said. The trucks have enough room to accommodate five passengers if motorists need to be taken to a Tollway maintenance garage, toll plaza or Tollway oasis.
There are a minimum of 11 Zero Weather Road Patrols -- at least one from each maintenance garage station -- that augment H.E.L.P. trucks and State Police patrols, especially during the overnight hours, the release said.
Bukaczyk said the crashes are a combination of slick driving conditions and people not slowing down and providing enough distance between vehicles.
Chicago city officials continue to work early Friday on getting area residents to shelters and providing well-being checks for individuals due to dangerously low temperatures.
As of 5:15 a.m., there have been 160 shelter requests and 100 crisis referral calls, according to the Office of Emergency Management Communications (OEMC).
The Department of Family and Support Services also conducted 20 well-being checks, and continued its outreach to homeless residents, the release said.
The Departments of Buildings had received more than 300 calls for no heat, and inspections will continue into Friday morning.
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