More than 500 flights canceled as 5 inches of snow falls on Chicago

The first day of spring has come and gone, but that didn’t stop Mother Nature from slinging another round of snowfall at the Chicago area Monday, prompting airlines to cancel hundreds of flights out of the city.

Snow fell over most of the Chicago area, forcing people to break out the shovels one more time.

“I thought it was spring. I can’t believe it’s snowing. But hey, that’s Chicago for you,” said Alfred Kim, 42, as he walked to the California stop on the CTA Blue Line in Logan Square.

“I feel like we have six months of winter and six months of the other three seasons.”

By noon, about 5 inches of snow had fallen at O’Hare International Airport, according to the National Weather Service office in Romeoville. Roughly 4.4 inches had fallen in west suburban Naperville, and 4.4 inches fell at northwest suburban Park Ridge. About 4.9 inches had fallen in southwest suburban Plainfield, and 4.6 inches fell in north suburban Gurnee.

As of 3:30 p.m., airlines at O’Hare had canceled more than 450 flights and other flights were delayed at least one hour, according to the city’s Department of Aviation. Airlines at Midway International Airport canceled more than 50 flights, and delays were at least two hours long.

The city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation deployed its full fleet of 280 snowplows and salt spreaders to main streets and Lake Shore Drive ahead of the commute, according to a statement from spokeswoman Molly Poppe. The snow-removal vehicles had been redeployed to clear neighborhood streets as of about 4:30 p.m.

A winter weather advisory for the entire Chicago area expired at noon and the snowfall had tapered off by the early afternoon. By midweek, the weather is expected to take a turn for the better.

Forecasters predict temperatures will rebound to the 40s on Tuesday, with a 20 percent chance of rain that night. By Wednesday, temperatures should move into the mid to upper 50s.

Even though spring has sprung, Monday’s snowfall would by no means be the latest snow has lingered into the year.

The latest measurable snowfall on record in Chicago happened May 11, 1966, according to the weather service. And the latest snowstorm bringing at least an inch of accumulation happened May 4, 1907.