Drivers warned about hazardous road conditions as snow ends

By the time the snow tapered off late Friday morning it had dropped up to 9 inches in parts of southern Wisconsin, but 4 to 5 inches across most of the Milwaukee area.

The National Weather Service and local authorities warned of hazardous travel conditions as some lake-effect flurries continued into mid-morning. There were several accidents reported on the area freeway system, including three on I-41 at W. Burleigh Ave., W. Silver Spring Ave. and south of the Highway 145 connection in Menomonee Falls.

As of 9:40 a.m., totals in Milwaukee were 4.3 inches, Waukesha had 4.4, Racine 3.8 and Kenosha had 5.1 inches.

One observer in the far southeastern corner of Kenosha County reported 9 inches, the weather service said.

As of midday, many streets in the Milwaukee area were still snow- and slushed-covered.

At Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee plow crews worked throughout the night to keep runways and taxiways open. There are no ground or airborne delay programs in effect for Mitchell, according to the Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Control Command Center.

Not so at Chicago's O'Hare International. Because of the snow, an air traffic management program is in place at O'Hare.

At daybreak, some flights into the airport were being delayed about 90 minutes. By midday, those delays had grown to an average of more than 3 hours, according to the FAA.

Already Friday, more than 1,850 flights have been canceled in the U.S., with the majority of those — more than 800 — occurring at O'Hare, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.

Among other airports, Chicago Midway was reporting 282 cancellations and Detroit Metro was reporting 236 cancellations.

Mitchell International reported 35 cancellations.

Mitchell was operating normally as of late morning, with snow removal crews working to keep runways and taxiways clear amid light snow that was continuing to fall.

"Otherwise, we're in good shape," said Harold Mester, an airport spokesman.

Elsewhere, delays were beginning to pile up at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, according to FlightAware and the FAA.

Air travelers are being advised to check with their airline for specific information about cancellations and making changes to reservations.

Chicago and Detroit remain under winter storm warnings, while the storm warnings and advisories for southern Wisconsin have been allowed to expire.

The Milwaukee Public Schools were closed Friday and all after-school activities Friday also are canceled, officials announced on Twitter late Thursday night.

The Milwaukee Department of Public Works said 119 salt trucks with front plow blades mounted worked on the city's main streets before the morning commute. In addition, 120 garbage trucks with front plow blades mounted were deployed to address side streets, DPW said.

Most garbage and recycling collections scheduled for Friday in Milwaukee have been canceled, DPW said.

Collections are still scheduled on automated garbage and recycling routes, according to a news release from the DPW.

Most of the school closings announced by early Friday morning were in Milwaukee and to the south and southwest. Here's a listing.

The weather service had issued a winter storm warning from 9 p.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. Friday.

The weather service said additional snow is possible tonight and Saturday across far southeastern Wisconsin, but that amounts will be less than 1 inch.

Saturday is expected to be partly sunny with a high near 20.

RELATED: Clearing Mitchell's runways a choreographed snow dance powered by massive diesel engines

Motorists can check road conditions via the state Department of Transportation's website 511wi.gov.