Winter storm grounds flights, putting some holiday hopes on ice

The Ellenburg family should have been in Iowa on Thursday, kicking off a long holiday weekend with family near Cedar Rapids.

Instead, they were among the thousands of people descending on, or stranded at, Chicago’s two airports by an onslaught of an ill-timed winter storm.

Tammy and Dennis Ellenburg of Portland, Ore. were supposed to fly out Wednesday night, along with their youngest granddaughter, 4-year-old Angevelle Montgomery.

“They canceled the original flight last night and again this morning,” said Tammy Ellenburg, grandmother to eight. She was holding Angevelle while her husband waited in line to find another flight.

The family expected to pause in Chicago for just a little while on the way to Iowa. 

Instead, “we had about 6 hours in the airport yesterday before leaving and again today. It’s been crazy,” she said.

It’s been quite a ride for Montgomery.

Several, in fact.

“She’s gotten to ride a train, an elevator, an escalator,” Tammy Ellenburg said.

“She’s had quite an adventure.”

That wasn’t the word the National Weather Service used in issuing a winter weather warning for the Chicago area Thursday.

Wind-whipped snow was expected to fall much of the day, with temperatures dropping 20 to 30 degrees within hours. That meant bridges and overpasses could suddenly freeze over.

The warning took effect at 9 a.m. in Kane, McHenry, Kendall, Grundy, Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Ogle, Lee, DeKalb, Livingston and LaSalle counties, and at noon in Cook, DuPage, Will, Kankakee, Iroquois and Ford counties.

It won’t expire until 6 a.m. Saturday.

The powerful Arctic front is expected to drop 3 to 6 inches of snow, most of that on Thursday afternoon and evening, according to the National Weather Service.

But the real danger will be the wind and the cold, the weather service said, warning of white-out conditions with near zero visibility is some places.

“Rapidly deteriorating conditions with a period of snowfall rates over 1 inch per hour are expected mid to late afternoon,” the weather service said. ”Winds gusting as high as 50 mph are expected [and] wind chill values of 25 to 35 below zero.

“Roads will likely quickly become ice-covered as temperatures rapidly fall,” it added in the warning.

Those falling temperatures are of particular concern to those with no place to go. 

Ahead of the storm, the city was deploying teams to reach out to people experiencing homelessness and urge them to head to a city warming center or shelter as the cold front bears down on the city. 

The Night Ministry, a non-profit that helps provide support for Chicago’s homeless, will patrol the streets handing out winter gear, along with information on shelters — and a way to get there.

“We’re providing people with transit cards so they can get to a warming center or a shelter, as well as ride the CTA to find a warm place to stay,” said Burke Patten, who helps runs the nonprofit.

Night Ministry already has been handing out blankets and sleeping bags as well as talking to people about winter-related health challenges, such as frostbite and hypothermia.

“Our operations would normally be out on the streets doing this kind of outreach,” he added. “This is just, you know, as we realize what’s happening in the next couple of days, really getting people prepared as much as we can.”

Their street medicine team is “very mobile,” Patten said. The workers are able to travel around the city to hand out gear to those in need.

“They’re able to get from the North to the South side and over to the West side,” Patten said. “So any locations where they know that there are encampments, or where they know that people are staying on the streets.”

Information on the city’s 21 warming centers is available by dialing 311; visiting chicago.gov/fss; and using the CHI311 mobile app. The Department of Family and Support Services also provides warming centers at each of their senior centers in the city. 

While most city warming centers are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Garfield Community Service Center located at 10 South Kedzie Avenue, is open 24 hours a day.

Few people were using the Garfield center as of midday Thursday, but that was expected to change as temperatures dropped, said Joseph Dutra, director of public affairs for the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services.

“We want to connect people to shelter,” Dutra said of the warming center. “So when it’s overnight we want to make sure people have that shelter.”

Aside from the city’s warming centers, police stations, public libraries and Chicago Park District fieldhouses are all good options to warm up, Dutra advised.

Libraries on the South, West, Central and North Side will be open until 8 p.m. Thursday.

“DFSS has also reached out to shelters that typically operate for 12-hours to remain open for 24-hours and provide services such as short-term stays, food, showers, and warmth to clients,” a city official told the Sun-Times.

“Our outreach teams have been engaging with encampments in the leadup to this storm, educating people about the coming blizzard and helping them prepare accordingly – providing individuals with warm clothes, food, water, etc,” the official said.

Mike Bardou, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the worst conditions were expected just in time for the Thursday evening commute.

Snow is expected to keep falling Friday, with blustery conditions persisting and temperatures barely cracking zero. 

Winds are expected to ease slightly Saturday, with temperatures slowly moving into the teens Sunday. Conditions are expected to be treacherous through the weekend. 

“The combination of conditions is making for a very dangerous period, especially if you’re traveling or have to spend any time outside,” Bardou said. 

Drivers should keep a full tank of gas and an emergency kit that includes blankets and a flashlight in their cars in case they get stranded. 

Those remaining in Chicago were, as always, urged to give city snowplows plenty of space to work as they dealt with the storm. At least 300 trucks were at the ready, and the city has more than 400,000 tons of salt on hand, according to Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Cole Stallard. 

Guidice and other leaders also urged residents to check on their neighbors through the weekend, especially those who are older or who have disabilities.

“It’s critical for residents to be patient, take care of themselves and look out for each other,” Guidice said. “Staying connected is key to being safe.”

Well-being checks can also be requested at 311. 

Nearly 3 million travelers are expected to cycle through the city’s airports over the next week. The city’s Department of Aviation is urging passengers to check flight status with their airlines well ahead of time and to plan to arrive at O’Hare or Midway at least two hours ahead of time for domestic trips and three hours early for international trips. 

As of 8:30 a.m. Thursday, more than 450 flights had been canceled at O’Hare International Airport and about 240 at Midway Airport.

Some travelers, knowing the storm was headed this way, already had altered their plans.

Carolina Panthers cap in hand, Austin Sweet was ready to escape Chicago’s first major snow storm and the first of his time in the city, to make it back down to South Carolina with his family.

The 23-year-old originally had a flight leaving O’Hare International Airport at 5 p.m. Friday — amid plunging temperatures and blustery conditions — but was able to switch it to switch it to 1 p.m. Thursday, just as snow was expected to start.

“I know it’s supposed to blizzard out and I wasn’t sure, so I switched it today,” Sweet said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to leave.”

Travel plans also changed for 14-year-old Cesar Carroll.

His mom, Angie Ulrich, drove him in from Rockford — with her 4-month-old granddaughter in tow — to make sure Cesar could make his flight to see his brother in Arkansas.

“They don’t get to see each other too much so it’s important that he makes it,” said Ulrich.

“I haven’t seen him in months,” Cesar added.

Carroll had been scheduled to depart Thursday evening but Ulrich changed the flight to 1 p.m. so he wouldn’t miss it, sparing them a headache as that original flight ended up being canceled late Thursday morning.

Not everyone at O’Hare was trying to leave the city, of course.

Katie Fassbinder said she and husband Peter “made it home just in time.”

The Chicago couple was flying home from visiting family in Zurich, Switzerland and spent four hours on the phone Wednesday, trying to get on an earlier flight to land ahead of hte storm.

“My husband is Swiss and works in risk management, so we planned for this,” Fassbinder said.

Despite the hassle, the 35-year-old said she wanted to make it back.

While serving in the Peace Corps, she noted, “I’ve missed six Christmases already,” so she was determined to make it home this time — for one person, in particular.

“My grandmother, she’s 89 years old and basically said that this would be her last Christmas.”

Contributing: Mitchell Armentrout