Chicago-Area Businesses, Elmhurst Schools Announce Closings Early

Usually when it snows, we receive a call from the kids' school early on the morning of the closing, about 5 a.m.. My office in downtown Chicago, which rarely closes, tells us to check a website in the morning before heading to work.

This time, we knew there would be no school or work before dinner on the day before. The call that everyone should stay home Wednesday came from the Elmhurst District 205 Schools around 2 p.m., and from my office about 5. Clearly, local businesses and schools are taking the storm seriously this time. And this storm is a big deal, even in a city where 6-10 inches of snow and an earthquake did not close schools and offices last year.

Many downtown Chicago offices closed early to give people a chance to make it home before the storm. My 1:40 Union Pacific West Line Metra train was packed with people. A little later, around 3, the train platforms and stations were reportedly packed with people hoping to get home.

There's a good reason for the strong reaction to the storm.

As I look out the front window of my suburban house, the snow is coming down so hard that it obscures my view of the house across the street. I can see that my neighbor's house is there, but it's difficult to make out any details through the thick snow, which is blowing horizontally in the intense (about 50-60 mph) winds. A neighbor running the snowblower on the sidewalk there is a hazy figure, not visible clearly enough for us to tell who he (or she) is.

As I write this, my husband, who normally likes to shovel before the snow accumulates so much that removing it becomes unmanageable, is debating whether or not shoveling snow is worthwhile. The winds are blowing so hard that snow is collecting in drifts around the house. If he shovels the driveway, the winds could put it back right where it was.

We have yet to see a snowplow on our street. With the way things look out my window, the City of Elmhurst will have its hands full just keeping the main roads passable.