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Late winter makes up for season’s mild start in Skokie
A plow clears a Skokie street during a snowy day in January 2012. | Mike Isaacs~Sun-Times Media
Updated: April 15, 2013 10:42AM
SKOKIE — Skokie residents in January hardly had to think about moving their vehicles to the other side of the street.
With record-lows in snow accumulation during the first month of the year, the alternate side parking rules that the village imposes became irrelevant, hardly worth a thought.
But what a difference a month or so makes.
February and March have brought multiple days of snow with them and residents have had to adhere to Skokie’s parking rules when snow accumulates more than two inches. And if weather prognosticators are correct, we have not necessarily seen the end of snowy days just because we’re well into the month that rings in spring.
The village’s alternate-side parking program is in effect from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week after a snow accumulation of at least 2 inches. The program is a minimum two-day operation.
An “alert” warning siren is sounded at 7 a.m., indicating that alternate-side parking will be in effect for the day. The siren will then sound at 6 p.m., indicating that alternate-side parking has ended for that day.
On even dates of the month, all vehicles must be parked on the side of the street with even-numbered addresses. On odd dates of the month, all vehicles must be parked on the side of the street with odd-numbered addresses. Violators will be ticketed and towed.
March 5 produced the biggest snowstorm since the blizzard of February 2011 — with 9.2 inches recorded at O’Hare Airport.
The flakes started to fall last Tuesday morning across an area stretching from DeKalb and McHenry counties across the city and into Indiana. Skokie was not spared, though by this week the snow had melted away.
Skokie was well equipped with enough salt to handle the storm, having not used much of it in the usual snowy months of December and January. Plows were on the streets all day and night March 5, clearing away snow. The snowfall seemed to stop as quickly as it started as the following day turned snow-free and warmer temperatures came in by the end of the week.
