February Storm Drops Several Inches of New Snow

The week's latest winter storm was on its way out of the Chicago area before midday but not before dropping several inches of snow.

Watseka, Ill., south of Chicago, was the areas big snowfall winner, with 9 inches of snow reported. Closer to the city, Oak Park reported 7.4 inches, Lincolnwood reported 7.2 inches and Riverwoods reported 7 inches. In northwest Indiana, 8.5 inches of snow was recorded at Rensselaer. De Motte reported 8 inches while both Valparaiso and Remington reported 6.3 inches.

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The heavy and steady snowfall was over by midday but some additional accumulation was possible due to lake effect.

A Winter Weather Advisory that had been set to expire at noon was extended for Cook County in Illinois and Lake and Porter counties in Indiana until 2 p.m.

The latest winter blast was a doozy for a morning commute that included numerous spin-outs and fender benders, delayed trains, canceled flights and at least one jack-knifed tractor trailer.

The city of Chicago sent more than 300 pieces of snow-fighting equipment out onto the city's roadways. The Illinois Department of Transportation readied nearly 1,800 plows and 3.700 employees and the Illinois Tollways put out its full fleet of 182 plows.

High temperatures were expected to remain in the 20s on Wednesday, but single-digit highs are predicted for Thursday. More snow is in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday.

This latest snowfall follows one of the snowiest months on record. Much of the metropolitan area was blanketed by 4 to 8 inches of snow Friday and Saturday, ending the month of January as the third snowiest month since the city began recording.

O'Hare International Airport -- where the city's official weather measurements are recorded -- saw 4 inches of snow Saturday, bringing the 2013-2014 season snow total to 52.8 inches.