CHICAGO – Heavy snow pushed into Great Lakes cities, including Chicago and Milwaukee, on Thursday during the season’s first winter storm, reducing visibility down to a quarter-mile during the morning commute before bringing more travel impacts across Indianapolis. After receiving 2.7 inches of snow at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Thursday marks the snowiest November day in five years. More than 700 flights at Chicago’s Midway and O’Hare airports were delayed or canceled on Thursday, according to flight tracker Flightaware.com.FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray was in Chicago where morning commuters faced blustery conditions. “I think Chicagoans were caught off guard by the rapid fall of snow that has happened here just a week before the holiday season kicks off,” he said. “This is snowball-packing weather, no doubt about it.”Snowfall increased throughout the morning, reducing visibility across Chicagoland. Between 2-4 inches fell before changing to rain in the afternoon. The winter storm continued to move south across northeastern Illinois and into northwestern Indiana.  Indianapolis is included in a Winter Weather Advisory that covers most of central Indiana through Thursday night. The NWS warned of slick roads and bridges as the snow continued to move southeast through the region. At Indianapolis Airport, 2.5 inches of snow fell by 1 p.m.Snowfall rates between 1 and 2 inches per hour and gusty winds up to 45 mph were observed long the Interstate 94 corridor, including Madison, eastern Dane and Milwaukee counties, leading to travel impacts.Wisconsin State Patrol said troopers have been responding to “many crashes” and vehicle runoffs throughout the morning.According to the National Weather Service in Milwaukee, visibility dropped to between a quarter- and half-mile on Thursday morning as heavy bands of snow moved through West Bend and Sheboygan. The winter storm happens during Wisconsin’s Winter Weather Awareness Week. The NWS Milwaukee office posted some wintry scenes, saying with tongue in cheek that it was now “aware.”The snow was the first part of a winter storm unfolding across the Northeast, Great Lakes and mid-Atlantic. With it happening a week before Thanksgiving, it could impact holiday travel. A potentially record-breaking 80 million people are expected to travel more than 50 miles from home this year, according to the AAA.