Midwest to Northeast Coast—Storm has no mercy

Northeast Illinois awoke Saturday to a heavy snow cover that was continuing to build. As the day progressed northerly winds gusting consistently over 35 miles per hour whipped and drifted falling and already fallen snow. As the storm center moved east, and winds became more east of north, the Lake Michigan “snow machine” kicked in. Bursts of snow dumped an additional 3 to 6 inches as far inland as DuPage County. Whiteout conditions along Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive forced its temporary closing late Saturday afternoon. Most of the city proper received a foot of snow with Wrigleyville reporting 15 inches. The storm raged on as it moved quickly through Ohio and Pennsylvania continuing to dump up to a foot of snow far to the north of its path. The storm was expected to further intensify off the New Jersey coast and blizzard warning were issued for a good portion of New England including New York and Boston where snowfalls up to 20 inches were forecast.