well, things are getting a little bit better. the wind has died down and that is a game-changer. we re in single digits. when you add the wind, we re well below zero. you can see down the michigan avenue bridge, normally filled with pedestrians. pretty much empty. just saw a guy who was here on vacation from india. he was the only guy on the bridge for a while. he said boy, it sure is cold here. i told him to come back in the summer. the wind is the big problem. that s not bad. today we had the snow, and the commutes in chicago were horrendous this morning. that s what s going to happen on the east coast. from o hare to the city, it was two-plus hours driving in. normally that s about a 40-minute drive. snow really gave some major problems in chicago. because of the wind, the drifting. but as it stands now, it s not too bad. it s just cold and uncomfortable. some people out there walking along that bridge, bless them. ted rowlands, thank you. let s talk airports.
the south, clearly not used to nor equipped for this type of weather scenario. atlanta, you know, a million or so people live here and we ve got 16 sand trucks and 11 plow necessary operation today. you can imagine that coupled with the fact that people don t really have shovels, they don t have scrapers, they re not kwit quick to get around. there are a few folks getting out and about. a four wheel vehicle helps when you re talking about a major street here in downtown atlanta that hasn t been touched, either by plow or by sand and with this moisture now coming down in the form of wet stuff as opposed to sleet and snow, it s getting very crusty and glazed over. there are a number of areas here around georgia, alabama and mississippi that have been deemed impassable. let s talk airports. the atlanta airport is officially still open at last check. three out of five runways are open and operational. but the airlines aren t really
the roadways. and a live shot of chicago, maybe we can throw that up as well. meantime, let s talk airports. reagan national is closed for now but will reopen soon. and then magnificent mile, you will probably be covered in snow, later tonight and tomorrow. maybe six inches or more in the chicago proper area. memphis, here you go. a ground stop in the next hours or until now. they may extent it, because they have been extending it all more. and ft. lauderdale seeing delays. reagan national about to open in ten minutes on a regular basis. that s what we have cooking here. six to 12 inches pea totentiall across the same areas that got snow over the weekend. and on a longer term story, we will not see temperatures go above average for a good ten or 14 days as far as the weather pattern is concerned. yeah, a lot of friends in the