DeKalb County weather: Winter storm warning extended to 4 a.m. Wednesday

SYCAMORE – The National Weather Service has extended the winter storm warning for DeKalb County to 4 a.m. Wednesday, as snowfall continued to pick up across the area ahead of the Tuesday evening commute.

While DeKalb County did not see significant snowfall totals overnight into Tuesday morning, DeKalb County Sheriff Andy Sullivan said he feared road conditions would deteriorate as the day went on, making the evening rush hour a potential safety concern.

Much of northern Illinois, including DeKalb, McHenry, Kane, Lake, La Salle, Whiteside, Ogle, Lee, Winnebago and Boone counties, is under a winter storm warning until 4 a.m. Wednesday with 6 to 9 inches of snow predicted, according to an updated winter storm warning message posted by the National Weather Service Chicago office Tuesday. Almost a foot of snow was previously predicted for much of the region, however only 1 to 2 inches of snow was recorded by 8 a.m. on Tuesday in most of DeKalb County, according to National Weather Service.

Snow continued Tuesday morning into the evening, becoming heavier by the afternoon.

Sullivan’s concern prompted him and DeKalb County Chief Judge Bradley Waller to make the decision to close government buildings early Tuesday. The buildings closed at noon.

“Just to get people home and have potentially less people on the roadway during the evening rush hour,” Sullivan said.

[ Photos: DeKalb County residents and workers cope with wet, heavy snow ]

According to a hazardous weather outlook posted at 4:38 a.m. by National Weather Service offices in Chicago and Romeoville, snow was expected to continue in northern Illinois throughout Tuesday. Open areas experienced northwest winds with gusts up to 45 miles per hour.

DeKalb County snowplows were out in the early morning hours Tuesday clearing roads. They were expected to remain vigilant overnight into Wednesday.

Main roads in DeKalb city went through their first round of clearing as of 8:25 a.m. Tuesday, according to a social media post from the city of DeKalb, which also had crews out overnight at 3 a.m. in preparation of the Tuesday morning commute. Main city roads and residential roads were opened up, and more rounds of clearing ocurred as snow continued to fall Tuesday.

The wet snow made for some slippery conditions on area roads also, though the morning commute did not yield many major road crashes, Sullivan, who called the early morning “mild.”

The sheriff’s office issued news releases with details on multiple crashes as the day progressed, however.

A Toyota Sedan was going westbound on Cherry Valley Road around 7 a.m. Tuesday when the driver – a 28-year-old man from DeKalb – lost control of the vehicle on the snow covered road. After going into the ditch on the north side of Cherry Valley Road the Toyota struck a driveway culvert. No injuries were reported, according to the sheriff’s office.

At around the same time Tuesday morning, sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a single vehicle roll over on Pearl Street near Maple Road south of Kirkland, according to the department. The driver of the 2014 Ford sedan that rolled over suffered minor injuries from the crash and was treated by emergency medical services but refused transportation to the hospital.

The Ford sedan driver was cited for not having a valid driver’s license and given verbal warnings by the sheriff’s office for driving too fast for conditions and driving with an expired vehicle registration.

A third weather-related crash was reported at 8:36 a.n. Tuesday when sheriff’s deputies responded to a 2018 Ford Focus which had gone off the Interstate 88 exit ramp into a ditch near Peace Road. The driver was not injured, according to the sheriff’s office.

County and municipal snowplows were out clearing roads since before sunrise Tuesday, officials said. In Sycamore, a team of two snow shovelers and plowers were dispatched for a 24-hour on call shift to ensure emergency vehicles could reach their destinations safely and quickly.

The crews followed Sycamore fire personnel on calls to ensure roads and driveways were clear for first responders.

“Especially on a heavy snow like this, the city and county plows are busy doing the main roads, so they can’t divert if we run into heavier snow,” Gilmore said.

More snow is on the way, according to the National Weather Service. Another wind storm with several inches of accumulating snow and strong winds predicted could hit northern Illinois Friday into Saturday. The weather event will bring dangerously cold wind chills early next week, and could spur icy flooding along northern Illinois rivers.

This story was updated at 3:20 p.m. Another update occurred at 4:21 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. A third update was made at 5:12 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024