The din of snowblowers and shovels scraping pavement filled the air Friday as people tackled several inches of snow before the second wave of the winter storm sweeps across the Chicago area.
The heavy, wet snow began falling overnight and piled up throughout the morning. Then the snow gave way to sleet.
“This is heart attack snow,” said Ken Fronczak, 65, who was shoveling at a building he owns at 29th and Throop streets in Bridgeport.
The key is to push the snow, not lift it, he said. “But it could be a lot worse.”
He began shoveling at 5 a.m. and had cleared some of the sidewalks of his elderly neighbors.
“Normally I’d have all these corners done by now. But I’m taking it easy because it’s still coming for a long time and it’s heavy. I know my limitations,” he said.
He’s considered getting a snowblower, but he doubted one would work well with the dense snow.
Ken Fronczak shovels in Bridgeport Friday morning near 29th and Throop streets.
David Struett/Sun-Times
The National Weather Service’s latest Winter Storm Warning says the area will see another 3 to 5 inches of snow before the storm ceases. The warning, which remains in effect until noon Saturday, notes that “rain may mix with snow this afternoon before changing back to snow this evening” when temperatures drop.
Other residents dismissed the gloomy forecast and first wave of snowfall Friday morning, pointing to past storms that dropped much more.
“This ain’t no snow,” said Roger Sansone, 64, walking his dog on Emerald Avenue in Bridgeport.
He motioned to his waist, indicating the level of snow the lifelong South Sider had seen in prior snowstorms.
Although his landlord cleared his sidewalks that morning, he said he was up earlier to shovel them himself. He walks with a limp after a hip injury and needed them cleared.
His dog, Crash, was bundled in a sweater and coat. Crash, named after the dingo in the video game Crash Bandicoot, is usually fussy about walking in the rain. “But the snow, he don’t care about,” Sansone said.
Roger Sansone walks his dog Friday morning in Bridgeport.
David Struett/Sun-Times
In the Lake View neighborhood, slushy, dark snow lined the streets where snowplows had cleared the road, with some residential roads slick with a layer of ice. Cars sat along the road, a coating of snow covering their windshields.
Those brave enough to go outside were wearing thick winter coats, beanies, scarves and gloves as they walked their dogs or made their way to the L.
For a Chicago winter, it’s been “warm and dry,” said Blake Wilcox, 52, as he started shoveling the sidewalk in front of his condo on Bradley Place.
Holding a wide, gray shovel, Wilcox said what he’s really worried about are the two days of below-zero temperatures forecast next week.
“I may cook a lot so the oven keeps the apartment warm,” Wilcox said.
In southwest suburban Palos Hills, heavy snow tapered off and turned to freezing rain Friday morning as residents worked to clear their driveways.
Along Broadmoor Drive, the faint sound of snowblower engines in the distance and shovels scraping concrete brought noise to the usually quiet neighborhood.
Eki Nureduni, 54, spent at least 45 minutes clearing his driveway. Kenny Nureduni, Eki’s son, said his father came out to start shoveling as soon as the snow started dying down.
“We need to at least clear out the driveway so we can move around in emergency cases,” Kenny Nureduni said.
About a block, Nick G. and his dog, Axel, walked through an unshoveled sidewalk on South Alta Drive. Nick G. was covered nearly from head to toe while Axel sported a gray dog coat.
“I didn’t go [outside] to work, but I did have to come outside to walk the dog,” Nick said. “Now I want a cat.”
Luke S. uses an electric shovel to clear his driveway in Palos Hills.
Mohammad Samra/Sun-Times
Luke S., 29, cleared his driveway in about 15 minutes using an electric shovel on 103rd Street and 84th Avenue.
Although some residents weren’t going to work Friday, Luke S. was planning his day around getting to work Friday evening at Sebastian’s Ale and Whiskey House in Lombard.
Maciek Zaiac, 13, said he’d been shoveling snow for at least two hours around his home on South 83rd Avenue and West 103rd Street. But first, he had a snowball fight and wrestled with his 11-year-old brother, Jakub, in the family’s backyard.
Maciek had mixed feelings about being off from school at Conrady Junior High School.
“I get to clean the snow, but it’s a Friday and I like going to school on a Friday since it’s the last day of the week,” he said.