A major snowstorm moved across Chicagoland last weekend, with two rounds of snow dumping several inches in places like Oak Park, and a temperature drop that plunged to subzero and brought with it a windchill as low as -27 degrees, according to official weather reports.
The snow that fell Jan. 12 may have been some of the heaviest so far this winter. Main streets and sidewalks were cleared by village crews. Private contractors aided some other areas.
Oak Park village spokesman Dan Yopchick said some residents lost power due to downed power lines, but that was restored in less than an hour. Otherwise, the village reported no major vehicle crashes, health emergencies or other problems related to the storm.
“Yeah, all things considered, I think it went pretty smoothly,” said Yopchick. “Our Public Works staff were prepared well in advance.”
He said the Public Works Department kept six to eight snow removal vehicles out on the streets from Thursday Jan. 11 through Friday night. Jan. 12
“I think that kept us in pretty good shape,” Yopchick said.
Part of the resources villages rely on are private contractors. Until this most recent storm, companies hadn’t seen much action. But that changed quickly.
“It’s been a very slow winter, and we just try to stay ready,” said George Angelillo of GA Paving, who had crews out in Oak Park during the weekend storm.
His company works mostly with private lots and businesses to clear away snow and while he had trucks plowing through Saturday Jan. 13 he said the bigger task was getting the salt down. As the snow melted, the salt dissolved so his teams had to make sure lots remained coated, to help prevent them from becoming icy hazards in the coming days.
“What you want to do is you want to get it as close to pavement or on pavement before the temperatures get too low because if the temps get too low, it’s useless,” he said.
Angelillo’s company works across several northern suburbs, and he said over the course of three or four days of the weekend storm, his crews could go through hundreds of tons of salt in preparing the ground to remain passable.
Yopchick gave similar numbers for village salt trucks: Each frigid weekend requires tons.
He said Oak Park went through some 500 tons of road salt and another 3,000 gallons of anti-ice liquid with this storm.
By Jan. 13, before the worst of the cold snap, all remained relatively quiet on Oak Park streets. Yopchick said he heard no reports of traffic accidents due to the weather.
Oak Park and other areas are now focused on the dangerously low temperatures.
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“We’re dealing with extreme cold now and we’re operating some warming centers … there’s a 24-hour warming center at Good Shepard Lutheran Church, though that’s not through the village,” Yopchick said.
At Oak Park-River Forest High School, the lone school of Oak Park and River Forest School District 200, officials announced students would do remote learning Jan. 12 and Tuesday, with teachers expected to take attendance within the first five minutes of each class.
“By closing our building and implementing the district’s E-Learning Plan, we are able to provide continuity of learning, while also keeping our students and staff safe,” SD200 Superintendent Greg Johnson announced on the school’s website Jan. 12.
Oak Park Elementary School District 97 also moved to remote learning Friday, a school district spokesperson told Pioneer Press. School buildings were also closed Tuesday.
Sports, extra-curricular, after school and other programs across area school districts were all canceled.
Schools were already set to be closed Monday for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
The village is operating three centers, including at its public libraries, which will be open regular hours for the duration of the dangerous weather.
Yopchick advised residents to stay warm and, when possible, check on neighbors and others in need.
“It’s the same things you always hear, check on the more vulnerable members of the population and don’t spend too long outside with pets,” he said.
Jesse Wright is a freelancer.