Carole Helm was sitting in traffic on a congested Golf Road in Schaumburg Wednesday when she heard a radio news report forecasting a crippling snowstorm.
Like many others, Helm was convinced she better get to a grocery store for an emergency purchase of milk, bread, meat, and fruit-just in case she found herself snowed in Thursday morning.
“I wasn’t going to stop, but I heard on the radio there was going to be 7 inches of snow,” Helm said. “I also bought all the half-price items left over from Christmas.”
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But at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, a storm warning issued by the Central Weather Service was downgraded to an advisory. Only 4 inches of snow was expected in the northern suburbs and 2 inches in the city.
But that was of little comfort to those who were caught on the roads when they turned slick.
The Lake County sheriff’s office reported that about 50 cars had slid into ditches by about 6 p.m. Wednesday, when there was only an inch of snow on the ground. No serious injuries were reported.
Officials from Du Page County, Cook County and the southern suburbs reported only slow traffic and fender-benders Wednesday night. A string of accidents closed the outbound Kennedy at Ohio Street about 8:30 p.m., but no serious injuries were reported.
About an inch of snow fell at O’Hare and Midway Airports, city aviation spokeswoman Lisa Howard said. But poor visibility delayed a few flights for up to 45 minutes between 4 and 6 p.m., Howard said.
Though the heavy snowfall was a no-show, the airports served free coffee in the terminals. Officials elsewhere were also geared up for the storm that never was.
Police in the northwest suburbs were surprised at how smoothly traffic was going Wednesday night, considering conditions. Mt. Prospect police, for example, were expecting accidents to number in double-digits. Instead, two fender-benders were reported early Wednesday evening, no more than the usual rush hour tally.
“I think a lot of people left work early and just aren’t on the roads. They used their heads,” said Mt. Prospect Cmdr. Michael Salatino.
Officials in Arlington Heights, Hoffman Estates and even Schaumburg, where motorists swear that every car in the universe converges on Golf, Roselle and Higgins Roads, also reported few accidents.
“Incredibly we’ve got no major tie-ups,” said a senior officer in Schaumburg. “We have had six minor accidents. We normally have about one or two. But for this type of weather (our traffic situation) is pretty much under control.”