Chicago sees record-setting Halloween snowfall, 300 flights canceled

Friday’s early-morning Halloween snowfall set a record for the city of Chicago and led to more than 300 canceled flights at O’Hare International Airport.

A tenth of an inch of snow was recorded at O’Hare International Airport, according to the National Weather Service. It marked the city’s first Halloween with any snow since 1993 and the first with measurable snowfall — which means at least a tenth of an inch — in recorded history.

Chicago has seen snow on Halloween only six times since 1873, NWS meteorologist Mike Bardou said.

Airlines proactively canceled more than 300 flights at O’Hare as of Friday morning, the city’s Department of Aviation said. Flights at Midway International Airport were operating normally.

Slushy rain was expected for later Friday evening, Bardou said.

“As we go into tonight, lake-effect snow will shift westward toward downtown,” Bardou said. “Rain and snow from northwest Indiana will also shift to the Chicago area later this afternoon and into this evening and we might see slushy accumulation on surfaces.”

And it wasn’t just a surprise snowfall wreaking havoc in Chicago on Friday — high winds made driving along the lakeshore an adventure on Friday afternoon.

The Chicago lakefront area was put under a flood advisory Friday that was to remain in effect through early Saturday, and drivers on Lake Shore Drive were being turned away in the northbound lanes at Monroe, according to reports.

While no official closures are in place, waves have periodically taken out the outermost lanes on northbound Lake Shore Drive around Oak Street on the Near North Side.

Bicyclists, however, are not being given the option to dodge the waves. The lakefront bike path has been closed until further notice from Ohio to Oak, according to Chicago Police.