Chicagoans play it safe on roads as snow falls, look forward to spring
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It has been a relatively dry winter, but Old Man Winter threw a curveball Thursday.
After rain and sleet during the day, snow was falling everywhere around the Chicago area Thursday night. A Winter Weather Advisory remained in effect for Cook County until midnight.
CBS 2's Sabrina Franza got in the Mobile Weather Lab for our 10 o'clock news. By 10 p.m., the snow was easing up as she headed up the Northwest Side on the Kennedy Expressway. The snow was still falling steadily, but the roadway was clear.
And not everyone is unhappy about the weather.
"This is heaven," said Larry Durr. "I love it!"
And Durr had some advice.
"My advice to the people worried about the snow and the weather - get a grip!" he said.
Durr is a Chicagoan through and through, and realizes that there have been far worse winters than this one.
"Here in Jefferson Park - I mean, we all get used to this. This is nothing," he said. "Just look at it - you only got a couple inches of snow! I mean, couple more weeks from now, it'll be spring! Wrigley Field! You know what I mean? Love is in the air!"
But in the moment, some people were losing their patience as they waited for a Chicago Transit Authority bus outside the Jefferson Park Blue Line station. They were standing in the snow for over 40 minutes.
"It'spretty long for a bus to come," said Charlie Rebak. "I think it's bad transportation."
"Public transportation hasn't been really the best lately," said Juan Barahonn.
Still, they say getting on a bus is a better alternative to driving on slick roads.
"If you're having a car or anything like that, you know, just make sure you're careful out there," Barahonn said, "and just be prepared for what's going to go on later on tonight as well."
A little to the east in Lincoln Square, the lake-effect snow had little effect on Dan Hynes – whom we met while he was picking up dinner in a zip-up and sneakers.
"This hasn't been that cold of weather," Hynes said. "It's a bit little snowy, rainy, slushy, but you know - this is Chicago."
He expressed optimism in lieu of a winter coat.
"If we get through this month, March - maybe part of March - and then we're home free," Hynes said.
Many of the people Franza talked with seemed really to be looking forward to the warmer weather in the forecast this weekend – hoping it will mean they won't have to shovel.