Commuters are in for a slick and icy Thursday morning after overnight freezing rain left most of Northeastern Illinois blanketed in a sheet of ice.
0.15 inches of ice was reported at O’Hare Airport and 0.14 inches at Midway Airport, according to the National Weather Service.
Slick roads caused several crashes and damage to vehicles. Between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday, there were nine crashes with injuries, 76 property damage crashes and 38 calls for motorist assists, according to Illinois state police.
The ice apparently caused a vehicle and tow truck to be briefly stuck on train tracks near Elmwood Park, causing delays of roughly 20 to 25 minutes to Metra’s Milwaukee District West line.
“Take it slow,” Lee Carlaw, a meteorologist with the weather service, said. “Any of the less traveled or untreated surfaces are very slippery. That includes sidewalks and parking lots.”
The Office of Emergency Management and Communications urged commuters to allow for extra travel time due to the conditions.
“Slick is an understatement,” the OEMC posted on X, formally known as Twitter.
Slick is an understatement this morning on sidewalks and side streets! Take it slow and don’t rush. pic.twitter.com/VA2UuWx5Dp
— Chicago OEMC (@ChicagoOEMC) February 6, 2025
The Department of Streets and Sanitation deployed over 300 pieces of snow equipment to help combat the conditions and several Chicago-area districts delayed the start of the school day by two hours.
The Kane County courthouse announced they’d be conducting hearings via zoom Thursday due to the inclement weather.
Weather officials earlier issued a winter weather advisory until 6 a.m. Thursday, warning of icy conditions and slick roads.
But temperatures were expected to climb above freezing by mid-to-late Thursday morning, weather officials said.
Despite blustery winds forecast Thursday, conditions would remain mainly dry with temps hovering in the upper 30s and low 40s for most of the day.
It’ll drop back into the mid-teens Thursday night and rise to the low to mid 30s during the daytime Friday.
Don’t put your salt away yet because there is a chance of another wintry mix of icy rain starting Friday night through Saturday, weather officials said.