Illinois Valley blasted with rapidly falling snow Friday morning

The good news is it’s almost the weekend and most folks can hunker down from the accumulating snow and biting cold that’s on tap.

The bad news? Oh, there is plenty of that.

Old Man Winter blasted the Illinois Valley with rapidly-falling snow early Friday. Jake Petr, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville, said Ottawa had 3 1/2 inches on the ground by 5:30 a.m. – “That all fell within a two-hour period” – with more on the way. The snow is forecast to continue through lunchtime Saturday.

“And the winds are going to begin to pick up out of the west,” Petr said, recommending that people avoid any unnecessary travel, “which could create another round of dangerous travel conditions.”

Motorists throughout northern Illinois were experiencing snow covered roads because of blowing snow on Friday morning, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

“Please stay home if at all possible,” the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office instructed on its Facebook page. “Travel is not recommended at this time unless it is an emergency. Deputies are reporting roads are snow covered and slippery. Give the plows a chance to get a handle on the roads.”

La Salle, Kendall and Grundy counties were expected to receive snow accumulation of more than 6 inches with similar wind gusts and similar travel difficulties. The snow in these areas will mix with and potentially change to entirely rain mid-morning to mid-afternoon Friday before changing back to snow, and snow could fall faster than 1 inch per hour at times.

Bureau County can expect between 5 to 10 inches of snow, with ice accumulations of around one-tenth of an inch. The NWS said snow will spread across this area from south to north, and some areas south of Interstate 80 could see freezing rain and rain mixed with snow at times. Colder air will move into the area later in the day Friday along with strong winds, potentially creating near-blizzard conditions.

[ What to expect from winter storm ]

The snowfall will decrease Saturday but so will the temperatures. As the Green Bay Packers start their playoff game Sunday afternoon the daytime high will have hit 1 degree. The bitter cold will linger through Tuesday, with daytime highs near zero with overnight lows of about 10 degrees below zero with wind chills about negative 30 degrees.

Illinois Valley Public Action to Deliver Shelter is open 24 hours and executive director Carol Alcorn said she had no weather-related needs – except more space, that is. The Ottawa shelter is at capacity (56 clients, 55 beds) while three more clients would max out the 66-bed shelter in Peru.

Meanwhile, schools were closed and weekend events were being canceled left and right.

[ Closures, cancellations in La Salle, Bureau, Putnam, neighboring counties: January 12, 2024 ]

One consolation is heating our homes is shaping up to be less costly than in previous years.

Citizens Utility Board reported natural gas prices have fallen, mostly by double digits, since December of 2022. Ameren Illinois, for example, reported costs of about 43 cents per therm, down about 42% from December 2022, while Nicor Gas reported 37 cents per therm, down about 56%. The gas tumble will come in handy because the 10-day outlook isn’t balmy. Wednesday and Thursday will bring daytime highs in the low 20s, which might well feel like a heat wave, but the mercury will again slid into single-digits next weekend.