Chicago Weather Alert: As Winter Storm Bears Down On Chicago Area, Drivers Gas Up And Snow Plow Companies Prepare
By Marie Saavedra and Jermont Terry
COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. (CBS) -- Drivers were filling up their tanks, and snow plow companies were preparing for a busy 24 hours, with a winter storm bearing down on the Chicago area Tuesday night.
A winter storm warning began Tuesday evening for much of the area – including the city of Chicago and Northwest Indiana.
Snow will increase Tuesday night and become widespread over the advisory and warning area overnight. Heavy areas of snow will be likely, especially for areas south and southeast of downtown Chicago.
Northwest Indiana is expected to be among the areas hit hardest. As CBS 2's Marie Saavedra reported, it had all been rain in the Region as of 10 p.m. Tuesday – and temperatures were still above freezing, so there was no ice. But there was already a sense of how dangerous it could become on Wednesday.
Like so many states, Indiana has several plows to the tune of 1,100. All of them usually drop brine, but with the rain, it has been tough for plows to drop the brine without it washing away.
Thus, the state is waiting and watching before getting the plows activated once the rain switches over the snow.
The rain unto itself made for a slow crawl of a commute home for a lot of people in Hammond late Tuesday. But they did not get home before running a few last-minute errands, including filling up at the gas station.
The gas station Saavedra and her crew stopped at was packed. There, we met one man, Roger Clark, who wanted full tank before heading from Hammond home to Kankakee.
"Yeah, we're supposed to get more down there, but I'm not too worried about it," Clark said. "I mean, all you can do is drive and try not to end up in a ditch."
Clark said he wanted to gas up before the snowstorm.
"Yeah, getting ready for it. Might as well," he said, "because we may not even be able to get out of the house tomorrow."
Indiana is warning people that as conditions worsen overnight, into Wednesday, and possibly even into Thursday, it could be a while before people can get back on the roads for their normal commute.
The state asked for patience and advised people to make smart decisions of when they need to get out on the roads.
Meanwhile, CBS 2's Jermont Terry visited south suburban County Club Hills. At 167th Street near Interstate 57, the roads were just wet from the rain that had been falling through the evening – but everyone was waiting to see when it would change over to snow.
That includes snow plowing companies like Ron's Landscaping and Snow Plowing, where owner Ron McDowell pulled out the blades as he prepared for a busy night and next 24 hours. The cargo bed on a snow plow-equipped pickup truck was loaded with salt.
We caught McDowell checking his brakes on one of his trucks. He has been clearing snow in the south suburbs since the mid-1980s, so he has seen his share of major snowstorms.
Late Tuesday, he was just watching the radar.
"We have two trucks, and we mostly do residents, and we do a little commercial," McDowell said. "We're just watching the radar - waiting for it to come down. if it comes down, we're getting it."
And of course, CBS 2 Chief Meteorologist Albert Ramon says it's not a question of "if," but "when" for the snow – which will keep falling for quite some time once it arrives.