Foot of snow for Midwest after first significant Winter storm

The first significant snowstorm of the season is creating hazardous travel conditions and causing hundreds of flight cancellations.

As the season’s first snowfall pushed out of the area, the coldest air of the season moved in Sunday morning, with temperatures in a few areas barely reaching the 30 degree mark.

The southern Wisconsin city of Janesville is digging out after the wintry storm dumped between 10 and 20 inches of snow by Saturday afternoon. By about 2 p.m. Saturday, there were reports of 17 inches in Grayslake, 16.5 in Hawthorn Woods, and 15.5 inches in Mundelein, said National Weather Service meteorologist Jamie Enderlen.

More than 100 flights have been canceled at O’Hare global Airport Sunday as the city deals with the aftermath of the second largest snowstorm on record for the city in November. Snowfalls topped 7.5 inches in Cedar Rapids, braking the record for November 21 of 3.5 inches set in 1893.

Theresa Pollick, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation’s district office in Bowling Green, said that during the day state trucks were on stand-by in the region and by nightfall conditions were worsening.

Residents in the northern IL counties saw the most snow.

Louisiana voters decide Saturday whether to elect a Democrat to statewide office for the first time since 2008 in a close competition that has seen the Republican former front-runner, U.S. Sen. The airport had received 7 inches by midday Saturday.

“A lot of people complaining about it, nobody wants to be out in it”, he said.

While winter has not officially begun, the shovels and snow blowers were out from South Dakota through southern Minnesota, Iowa and southern Wisconsin to northern IL and Indiana. More than 18 inches of snow fell in Capron, according to the National Weather Service.

Roads were slushy as freezing rain turned to snow in the Chicago area, which was forecast to get between six and 10 inches.

Temperatures plunged behind the front. Higher snowfalls were expected across lower MI.