After a month-long hiatus, winter is blasting the nation’s Heartland with a brutal combination of ice, snow and cold. The Chicago area, facing a major post Bears game snowstorm, will get off rather easy in comparison to areas from Oklahoma to western Illinois that are currently entombed in glaze, the result of a weekend-long ice storm. Hundreds of thousands have lost electricity there as trees and power lines crashed under the weight of the ice.
South of the glazed areas, up to 6" of rain brought flash flooding to northeast Texas and adjacent Louisiana, while high winds damaged 10 homes in San Marcos in south central Texas. An arctic blast in the wake of the storm will send readings below zero in many areas for the first time this winter.
With the cold air pouring in over fresh snow cover, subzero temps are expected in the Chicago area both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.
--By Steve Kahn, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
