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Orland Park, Homer Glen brace for snow

Orland Park and Homer Glen are preparing for heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures expected to strike the south suburbs Monday evening.

Homer Township Highway Commissioner Mike DeVivo said the township has plow crews ready to hit the roads, but cautioned residents to drive carefully, saying it will be tough to keep roads clear if forecasts prove correct.

Temperatures are expected to stay in the single digits or below zero through Thursday, DeVivo said, meaning snow will be light, fluffy and likely to drift back onto roads after being plowed. Road salt is also less effective at melting ice at such low temperatures and up to 30 mile-per-hour winds could produce whiteout conditions, he warned.

“Those are all worst-case scenarios, but there’s a good probability considering the snow, temperature and wind that we’re not going to be able to keep up,” he said. “There’s not much we can do to remove ice when it’s five below.”

Orland Park officials said they expected two to five inches of snow to fall by Tuesday morning and sprayed roads with an anti-icing solution Monday to help keep snow and ice from sticking to streets.

The village waits until the last minute to finalize plowing plans, but extra snowplow crews are currently scheduled to be ready to plow Monday evening and a full team of 23 drivers will arrive early Tuesday morning to handle “the bulk of the event,” said village spokesman Joe La Margo. They’ve also equipped plows with tanks that spread a liquid solution on the salt designed to make it more effective at low temperatures, he said.

Orland Park officials also reminded residents that street parking will be prohibited once two inches of snow fall and for 10 hours after snow falls to let plow crews clear streets. They also asked residents to clear a path to fire hydrants and to shovel snow onto lawns or parkways, not streets.