Thousands Plunged Into Darkness in Chicago as Blizzard Brings Heavy Snow and Bitter Temps to Region

Thousands of Chicago-area residents are without power on Friday as a brutal winter storm predicted to bring as much as a foot of snow and bone-chilling temperatures moved into northern Illinois.

By Friday morning, 96,203 Commonwealth Edison customers in Cook County — including 17,804 in the Windy City — lost power, according to power company Comed.

Several inches of snow have already fallen on the area, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations at O'Hare International Airport.

Dozens of schools have also adjusted learning plans, with some canceling classes and others going remote. 

The slippery conditions led to numerous accidents on the road, multiple closures because of "disabled vehicles" and downed power lines, and the rerouting of buses, the report said. 

The Chicago Fire Department said on the social media platform X that its crews and police officers are "responding to power outages citywide many caused by transformer issues. ComEd responding to many calls where wires are down or transformers have blown."

Snow is falling at a rate of about 1-to-2 inches per hour, NBC 5 reported, and the National Weather Service is advising people to postpone unnecessary travel because of the hazardous conditions. 

The NWS said blizzard conditions will continue through Friday night into Saturday morning.

Wind gusts could hit 50 mph and "dangerously cold wind chills" could send temperatures plummeting to 40 below zero. 

It's all part of a winter storm that is hitting much of the United States and that could generate waves of up to 30 feet on some of the Great Lakes this weekend.