The entire Chicago area was under a winter storm warning Friday, with some counties already seeing heavy and wet “bursts” of snow as a powerful winter snowstorm began to take hold across all of Northeastern Illinois and Northwest Indiana.
Editor's Note: We're tracking the winter storm all day. You can find the latest weather updates in our winter storm live blog here.
A powerful winter storm is already having big impacts on electricity in the Chicago area, with thousands of customers without power.
During a press conference with Chicago officials, ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones said the utility had already restored service to 114,000 customers system wide.
"Currently we have additional ComEd crews working to quickly and safely restore outages in Chicago and systemwide in Northern Illinois," Quiniones said.
At 9:15 a.m., ComEd's outage map showed 96,849 without power, with the majority located in Cook County. By 10:45 a.m., the number of those without power had dropped to 78,940.
At 11:30 a.m., Quiniones said that number was roughly 76,000.By 1 p.m., that number had gone down significantly, to 43,208.
Here are the latest numbers from the utility:
Local
Cook County – 33,200
DuPage County – 3,670
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Grundy County – 49
Kendall – 24
Lake County – 5,080
McHenry County - 24
Will County – 1,146
ComEd urges customers to contact the company immediately if they experience a power outage. According to the company:
You can check the ComEd power outage map here.
Customers can text OUT to 26633 (COMED) to report an outage and receive restoration information and can follow the company on Twitter @ComEd or on Facebook at Facebook.com/ComEd. Customers can also call 1-800 EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661), or report outages via the website at ComEd.com/report. Spanish-speaking customers should call 1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237).
Public safety is paramount. ComEd offers the following tips and information encourage customers to stay safe following severe weather:
- If you encounter a downed power line, immediately call ComEd at 1-800-EDISON-1 (1-800-334-7661). Spanish-speaking customers should call 1-800-95-LUCES (1-800-955-8237).
- Never approach a downed power line. Always assume a power line is energized and extremely dangerous.
- In the event of an outage, do not approach ComEd crews working to restore power to ask about restoration times. Crews may be working on live electrical equipment, and the perimeter of the work zone may be hazardous.
- Check on elderly and other family members and neighbors to ensure their safety and make alternate arrangements in the event of an outage.
We will update this story with the latest information as we receive it.
Latest information on the Chicago snowstorm
You can find our latest stories on the Chicago snowstorm below:
- Live snow radar map: Track weather near you as storm snarls Chicago area
- Snow totals: Latest snow totals in Chicago and Illinois as snowfall as continues
- Illinois winter road conditions: Buses rerouted, crashes reported and more
- School closures: Hundreds of Chicago-area schools, libraries closed amid winter storm
- Flights canceled: Ground delay at O'Hare, thousands of flights canceled across Chicago airports
