Travelers are bracing for misery as a large snowstorm bears down on Chicago, with over 775 flights nationwide already cancelled for Friday.
The storm is forecast to dump as much as 14 inches in Chicago starting on Thursday evening, with rapid accumulation of up to an inch an hour making roads difficult to clear.
‘Heavy snow is expected to spread across northern Illinois early this evening, then continue into Friday,’ the National Weather Service said in a flash bulletin.
‘Travel tonight into Friday will likely be very difficult to impossible at times. Avoid any unnecessary travel.’
Long lines formed at Chicago area stores on Thursday night as residents stocked up on provisions in anticipation of hunkering down through Friday.
Snow is seen falling on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile on Thursday evening. The storm is forecast to dump five to eight inches in Chicago, with rapid accumulation of up to an inch an hour
Shoppers crowd a Chicago store stocking up on provisions ahead of a major storm Thursday
Chicago could see more than a foot of rapidly falling snow, making road clearance difficult
The storm moved over Montana and South Dakota Thursday, hitting Chicago late in the day
Chicago was anticipating eight to 14 inches of snow over the next 24 hours, with the heaviest snowfall on Thursday night and early Friday morning, Gino Izzi, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Romeoville, Illinois, said in a phone interview on Thursday.
Wind chill temperatures were expected to drop below zero in many areas across the region, and officials warned of limited visibility on roads.
Sixty per cent of flights out of Chicago Midway, a major Southwest hub, have already been cancelled for Friday, according to FlightAware.
At O’Hare, a hub for both American and United, 204 departing flights and 175 arriving flights have been cancelled for Friday so far.
Snow began falling on Chicago on Thursday evening. The storm is forecast to dump five to eight inches in Chicago, with rapid accumulation of up to an inch an hour
Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago is seen as snow began to fall on Thursday evening
The storm is forecast to move over the southern Great Lakes on Friday, bringing snow to northern Indiana and Ohio, as well as parts of New York and Pennsylvania
United Airlines said on Twitter that travel waivers were in effect for snow-hit areas this week, and Delta Air Lines offered to rebook flights on Friday for 18 Midwest cities.
The National Weather Service has issued winter-weather warnings and advisories across parts of Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana.
Snow accumulation totals are expected from one to three inches in Nebraska, up to eight inches in Iowa, and up to a foot in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.
By Thursday evening, the heaviest snowfall totals had been in Montana, which saw up to eight inches in places, according to the Weather Channel.
The storm is pictured approaching Apgar Mountain in Montana on Thursday
Parts of Montana had near whiteout conditions as the storm dumped heavy snow Thursday
Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, and Cleveland are all forecast to begin seeing snowfall on Thursday night.
City officials announced school closures on Friday in Chicago, Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan because of the weather.
Winter weather across the United States over the last several days has killed several people in accidents in the Midwest since Monday, including six in Iowa, two in Missouri and one in Montana, local media in those states reported.