Snow Pounds Chicago Lakefront; Lake-Effect Snow Will Persist After Greater System Moves Out
EVANSTON, Ill. (CBS) -- Snow fell rapidly along Chicago's lakefront Saturday evening and night, and lake-effect snow will persist even after the greater storm system moves out.
As CBS 2's Shardaa Gray reported, some people made the best of the situation – or even enjoyed it – as they braved the cold for some good, wholesome family fun.
"This is amazing," said a young man and Maxemo Lorenzo.
Although Maxemo didn't have a sled when he came to Montrose Harbor Saturday afternoon, he loves Chicago so much that 20-degree temperatures weren't in his thought process.
"We're going to snowball fight, a lot of times. I love Chicago," Maxemo said. "I actually don't care about the cold. I just love the snow."
And so did many other families at Montrose Harbor.
"It's great," said Eric Eversman, who brought his daughter to Montrose Harbor. "We kind of rushed out first thing this morning to buy a sled - we didn't have one - and our daughter has never sledded before. She was confused, but she really enjoyed it."
Earlier in the day, we saw families using their sleds as shields of armor to block the forces of old man winter.
"It's really cold. It's really windy," Eversman said. "So hopefully, the snow keeps coming down so everyone out there can have a good day of sledding."
"I think it's fine," added Nacho Sola, who also brought his family to sled. Just to be outside, obviously, with all the precipitation – cold, no cold - just to be outside. There's no one out here, so let's try to enjoy it as much as we can."
Whether parents were prepared for the cold or not, there's one thing kids we talked to agreed upon.
"This is the best day of my life!" one kid said.
To the north in Evanston, parking lots are set up so Evanston residents can park and leave their cars to make way for snowplows. The City of Evanston says you can in the Maple Avenue Downtown Parking Garage and city parking lots until Thursday, Jan. 6.
CBS 2 Meteorologist Robb Ellis noted the overall larger weather system will exit over the next several hours – wrapping up around midnight. But the lake enhancement will be dominant overnight, and in Northwest Indiana on Sunday morning.