CHICAGO (WLS) — The first snowstorm of the 2025 season is in the books. With the lake-effect system, some areas were pummeled with a foot of snow, and others just saw a dusting. Most of the snow fell overnight, making travel dangerous in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana.
Light, on-and-off snow showers could linger through Monday’s afternoon hours.
Temperatures are now left in the 20s with wind chills in the teens.
Some schools in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana announced school closures and delayed starts because of the weather.
SEE ALSO: More than 700 flights canceled at Chicago airports Monday amid government shutdown, AM snowfall
Gary schools will operate on a two-hour start delay on Tuesday.
Hundreds of flights were canceled at Chicago airports amid the storm and the government shutdown.
At about 6:30 a.m., northbound DuSable Lake Shore Drive was shut down after five cars crashed near Oakwood Boulevard. Police said there were no major injuries.
By 7 a.m., crews cleared the crash and all lanes reopened.
Areas that experienced intense lake-effect snow saw 1 to 2 inches per hour.
In Indiana, Crown Point already saw 10 inches, and Hobart accumulated 6.5 inches overnight.
Momence had 12 inches.
South suburbs and northwest Indiana will continue to be more of the focus for heavy accumulating snow.
Over at Waukegan airport, a viewer sent a photo measuring up to 8 inches of snow by 7 a.m.
The Winter Storm Warning was the earliest for Chicago in at least 20 years.
A Winter Storm Warning in Chicago was the earliest in at least 20 years.
The system that spawned the snow was a chunk of the polar vortex, bringing record cold -40 air overhead and down the heart of Lake Michigan, supercharging the lake-effect snow machine.
This round was perhaps just a taste of what’s to come this winter, with above normal precipitation in the forecast for November, December and January.
The snow won’t stick around long. Temperatures are expected to rebound into the 50s in a couple of days.
Lake County, Illinois
ABC7 meteorologists issued an AccuWeather Alert for Monday, for the possibly dangerous travel conditions for the morning commute.
Lake County, Illinois was one of the areas that saw some of the heaviest snowfall overnight.
On Sunday, as the lake-effect snow began in the northern suburbs, a 29-year-old woman from Evanston died in a crash in Gurnee.
Police said they believed she struck a patch of ice and collided head-on with another vehicle.
People in Lake County woke up to several inches of snow on Monday.
Jazmine Debola said she was crossing into the Wisconsin border, when her car got stuck.
“I got stuck here; my family was not able to come, because they are stuck in Illinois, too,” she said.
Two good Samaritans spotted her and helped shovel her car out.
“I was walking over to work and saw her here. I pulled up and saw him, and I figured I would give a hand. And it worked out. It took a minute but we got her out,” Steven Jonasson and Devin Nelson said.
Illinois State Police said they’ve responded to dozens of crashes in the Chicago area.
But some children in the area had fun with the weather.
Kids are taking advantage of a snow day in the north suburbs.
The Century Park sled hill in Vernon Hills was the perfect place for a few hearty souls who braved the colder temperatures and had a little bit of fun on the first snowfall of the season.
Blakely Peters was hanging with her dad, Matt.
She was happy school was canceled.
The heavy equipment operator also had a snow day.
“They were hoping they weren’t going to have e-learning. I remember when I was a kid and we didn’t have e-learning. We just got to have normal snow days and got to enjoy ourselves. So they’re getting to enjoy themselves today,” Matt Peters said.
At the Ace Hardware in Gurnee, snow means a boost in revenue.
Many were stocking up on ice melt and shovels.
Manager Kathy Guthrie says they’ve been seeing a steady increase in sales the past few days.
“This morning the parking lot was totally full, and i was like, ‘oh no,'” Guthrie said.
Luci Carballido bought some kid-sized shovels for her two young sons, Nicholas and William, keeping them busy because they had a snow day.
But she also has plans to relax.
“If the weather does keep getting worse, we’ll just bundle up at home. Get some popcorn and candy,” Carballido said.
Northwest Indiana
Some of areas on Northwest Indiana have seen 6 to 12 inches of snow.
A semi got stuck on train tracks in Gary Monday morning due to the snowy conditions, police said.
Gary police responded about 8 a.m. to the intersection of Ridge Road and Richard Gordon Hatcher Boulevard for the reported crash.
The truck got stuck on the tracks, as a Norfolk and Southern freight train was traveling east, police said.
The driver was able to get out of the truck before the train hit it, police said.
The train pushed the truck into a building on the southeast side of the intersection.
The driver suffered non-life threatening injuries, police said.
“Right when we got finished, round two hit. So this is basically round three for us,” Gary plow driver Alfred Carroll said.
Neighbors in northwest Indiana are digging out from the season’s first snowfall.
In Crown Point, crews used heavy machinery to move snow in the town square.
“Kids had a remote learning day; so they’re staying home, got them outside in the snow. We’ve got about 5 to 6 inches here, maybe more, not sure, but just trying to keep them occupied while I’m also working from home. It’s been a fun morning,” Munster resident Evan Chandler said.
As much as the snowplows are out trying to clear the roadways, it’s hard to keep up.
FULL FORECAST: Chicago weather: AccuWeather Alert: Snow/wind early Monday
“Couldn’t believe it, this is too early. We usually have some flurries after Halloween, usually nothing like this until after Thanksgiving,” Merrillville resident Janice Bowden said.
“I’m used to snow as a kid, and this is what it always seems like throughout winter. So I’m kinda used to it,” Hobart resident Jerry Jordan said.
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For some, the snow was welcomed even if winter did seem to come up quickly.
“I love it, love it. I absolutely love it,” Gary resident Debria Starks said.
It was one 8-month-old puppy’s first snow, making clearing a bit more active for her owner.
“That’s her first time seeing snow; she love it. She love it; that’s my girl,” Gary resident Glen Moore said.
Some kids in Crown Point got in the first sledding of the year.
And some surfers in Whiting put their wetsuits to the test for a few waves left by the early winter storm.
Full list of Chicago-area alerts and advisories
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for Berrien County until 7 a.m. EST Tuesday.
