Floods could follow ice in northern Illinois

CHICAGO -- Mother Nature on Friday continued to mix it up in Illinois by following snowstorms and blasts of Arctic air earlier in the week with freezing rain, then fog and rapidly rising temperatures that threatened flash flooding.

Roadways lacquered with ice during early morning commutes thawed quickly, but mountains of melting snow began to create hazardous pools of water on those same roads later in the day.

"It's a Catch-22," said Marisa Kollias, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Transportation. "We're getting rid of one problem, the ice, but we're getting another problem with the flooding."

The National Weather Service issued flood watches for much of the state, including the Chicago area and communities hugging the Mississippi River, saying "the potential exists for very serious and potentially life threatening flooding."

In Cook County, authorities began closely monitoring river levels, and they made sandbags available to communities in case they needed to start fortifying low-lying areas, county spokesman Sean Howard said.

He feared a repeat of flooding in September, when remnants of Hurricane Ike dumped more than 10 inches of rain over one weekend, sending rivers rising, overwhelming sewer systems and flooding streets and basements.

"You already have an abundance of snow and that, mixed with heavy rains, causes a dire concern for us," he said.

As fog descended on much of Chicago during the day Friday, O'Hare International Airport reported delays of up to 90 minutes, with more than 300 cancellations, the Chicago Department of Aviation said.

State weather woes began late last week when heavy snows walloped northern and central Illinois, knocking out power to thousands of customers. That was followed by days of subzero temperatures and winds that further damaged power lines.

Thermometers are getting a workout, too.

Factoring in wind-chill, some temperatures last weekend fell to 20 below zero or lower, while forecasters say temperatures could near 60 degrees in places Saturday.

Friday began with rainy, icy weather hitting northern Illinois in a post-Christmas storm, covering roadways and train tracks throughout the region with slippery sheets of glasslike ice and shutting down two highways and an entire suburb.

In Chicago, crews were forced to return to streets they'd already salted earlier after a quarter-inch of freezing rain undid their work. In central Illinois, driving proved treacherous in Peoria, Bloomington and Normal, said weather service meteorologist Chuck Schaffer in Lincoln.

"There was only a very light coating of freezing rain, but the ground was so cold, it froze on contact," Schaffer said.

Almost all streets and highways in the Chicago area were ice-glazed in the early morning, and the Chicago Transit Authority's elevated train tracks also were covered with ice.

Some CTA trains were more than an hour late and delays of 30 minutes or more were reported on Metra commuter trains. CTA spokeswoman Kim Myles said the system's buses were delayed because garages were surrounded by ice.

Major highways throughout the region became skating rinks for several hours.

The entire Indiana Tollway from the Ohio border to the Illinois line was closed to traffic, and expressways north and west of Chicago reported slow travel times and multiple minor accidents during rush hour. The Eisenhower Expressway -- Interstate 290 -- was closed for a time because of the ice. The village of Lemont shut down all its major intersections because of iced-over roadways.

Kollias, the IDOT spokewoman, said all main roads had been reopened by mid-morning.

As fog descended on much of Chicago before noon Friday, O'Hare International Airport reported delays of up to 45 minutes, with just minor cancellations, the Chicago Department of Aviation said. At Midway, where delays were about 30 minutes, a Los Angeles-bound Southwest Airlines plane got stuck in the snow on a taxiway. There were no injuries and 94 passengers were put on other flights.

Aviation department officials advised passengers to check with airlines for delays and cancellations.

"There will be warming throughout the day, with temperatures rising into the 40s in most areas by late afternoon, but there may be some light rain during the afternoon and heavier rain tonight," the weather service's Schaffer said.