Light west winds. Per the emergency radio, right now this seems pretty localized to about 10 - 12 miles in every direction from where i am right now.

But, the whole thing might be moving east with the wind.

Hopefully it warms up a bit soon. Calling for high of 34.

I think we are probably neighbors.

The only true help for traction on ice is treaded snow tires or chains. And in the absence of either, STAY HOME.

If I HAD to go out and had neither of the above, I would surely take really GOOD tires and front wheel drive over a heavy ass SUV with mediocre tires and 4 wheel drive ON ICE.

They never learn-- as I drive (very slowly) past the 50 miles of dozens of wrecked and overturned SUVs in the median on I-25 each year.

better control than my little fwd sedan on ice sheets but the best would be if all SUV drivers knew that too

4 wheel drive and heavy weight vehicles (with decent tires) do great on fresh or packed snow, but on ice--a nightmare.

I got jitters driving earlier this morning & I've manage to avoid your terrible experience so far in life
I can't imagine how you were right after that but few degrees more and this here will melt hopefully and no more deaths or injuries

and it hurt like hail!

But I was able to turn out of it ok , and had to watch for others that's part of it
even if you are careful others may not be
And the kicker ??when I got to a small street almost home I was going only maybe 20 -25mph and just lost it went in to a curb . No one was on the street but what was that ?? I am actually glad I don't have to walk in it for a long distance . Ever see old people with those snow cleats on thier shoes sometimes ?. I would want those if I was walking a long distance this morning .

Emergency radio was suggesting it was 10 or 12 miles in all directions from where i'm at, but if you're north suburbs, it's way bigger than that.

I guess from the news it goes all the way up to Hinsdale oasis on 294 big crash and west out to Bartlett crashes .

Although looks like your area was hit the hardest if you are out in Will co., 50 crashes in 1 hour or something?

http://wgntv.com/2018/01/24/black-ice-causing-multiple-crashes-spinouts-on-chicago-area-roads/

in the link someone hit a gas station island and a fire started. obviously the person was not speeding in to a gas station its just that icy

I live in the far south part of the county, about 6 miles east of the Grundy/Will line. So yeah, that would be us.

We had people getting to work 90 minutes to 2 hours late.

We live in a hilly development, and he can even walk our 80lb german shepard on an icy day with them.

They're easy to put on over your shoes. He picked up two 2-packs at BJ's or KMart for about $25 a set. We have a pair in each car and one at each major entry to the house.

Really. Back in the days when you could mount studded tires on your vehicle, it was possible to get around on icy roads. No more, though. Most states have banned tire studs.

Probably back in the mid-70's. My first car (meaning MINE not my parents was bought in May of 1973. I've never had studded tires because they stopped selling them.

I remember my dad having them put on the family cars in the 60's though.

They're very hard on roadway surfaces, for sure. In California, when I used to go skiing, there was a set of chains in my car. They were required in some places on the way to the ski areas. Noisy damned things, and a PITA to install on the side of the road, too. However, they made driving easier on those snowy mountain roads, for sure.

Easier on the roads when you hit areas that are well plowed. The ones made from aramid (or the upgraded version in kevlar) are expensive and "expensiver" though.

Interesting. I don't think I'll be putting them on my cars, though.

Aramid is a VERY strong polymer. The only difference between aramid and kevlar is purity. The monomer must be SUPER pure to make the crosslinking totally symetrical. The people who make the kevlar monomer also make the aramid monomer first and then distill it to purity through a monstrously tall distillation tower.

That's why, even if i wanted them on my car, i wouldn't pay the extra money for the kevlar. That's a pretty big difference in price for something that would last 20 years instead of 15.

I've been driving up and down the East Coast with studded tires for years (in the winter), under the assumption that it was legal.

When you say that it's banned in most states, what do you base that on?

https://www.tirebuyer.com/education/studded-winter-tires

Here at the fringe of the Mojave desert, it has been like fall season all winter now with only one rainstorm and temps rarely below 40 (8 to 10 degrees above of what it was 25 years ago). Global warming is real as far as I can tell. When we first started living here thirty years ago we would get six to twenty rainstorms in the winter and have temps of in the range of ten to thirty mornings of below freezing.

Desalination of seawater for So Cal will come very soon I am almost certain. Cheap solar power will make it possible.

Please enjoy your rain, some of us are not getting any

We had quite the arctic blast for a couple weeks, but the temps mostly have been enough that we have, surprisingly, had about 9 inches total of snow, but about 3 inches of rain since Thanksgiving.

This is the first time where it rained while the temps were near or below freezing. Most of the other rain has happened when it's been high 30's to mid 40's

the plants are worth it, but to build more plants, and then lots of rain the next year when it is ready to go , what good is the plant?
Some of my family is out west and some are contemplating moving back to chicago .
I would like to go out there!!
We both agree the grass always looks greener on the other side
One friend came back after being out west for 10 years, due to fires, but that was awhile ago. He has not contemplated going back because he found a real good job in the area

I have lived in So Cal for 59 years and see this water issue as something that can be easily overcome with off the shelf engineering. It will just take some political push by people and industries in the area. I see people move in and out all the time but can still tell you more people are living here every year. I think it might be possible in one recent year in the last 100 or so we might have had a very small decline in population (maybe).

To me, the grass is only green if you help make it that way. Yea the fires were bad this year but that is because of the big rains the year before. And another reason is they have also stopped doing controlled burns as much because of budget cuts (bit us in the ass this time).

Desalination might someday get close to being the same cost of how much it takes to import it from Northern Califonia at any rate. Mostly the people up there don't like us taking water from up there anyway because it screws up their wetlands and water systems for farming also. We will work it out though because we have a strong state government system.

we’ve been on the road for about an hour, we made a mile, maybe a mile and a half.

somewhere it might be an easier run as late rush tapers off. If you can get to an exit that is ...
Stay safe

The opposing lane is The I-80 West coming from Chicago.

Is hockey really that popular in Illinois?