Less than 2 inches of snow reported Sunday: National Weather Service

A winter storm dusted most of northern Illinois with less than 2 inches of snow Sunday along with colder temperatures, the National Weather Service said.

The winter weather capped the Thanksgiving weekend with morning snowfall that prompted the weather service to urge motorists to take caution on the roads.

The National Weather Service had issued a winter weather advisory Sunday morning that warned from 1 to 3 inches of snow could fall by 2 p.m. in parts of northern Illinois. Heading into the weekend, forecasts were predicting a coating of snow to an inch, with the steadiest snowfall expected in the morning.

By the end of the snow, the NWS office in Romeoville recorded 1.8 inches at O’Hare International Airport, 1.5 inches at the Rockford Airport, and 1.9 inches at their offices, meteorologist Zachary Yack said.

He did not expect to get more specific local totals until mid-morning Monday, but noted there were heavier pockets of snow “here and there” with some locations in Chicago reporting no snow on the ground, as surface temperatures melted it.

The advisory, which was in effect until 2 p.m. included Boone, DeKalb, Kane, Kendall, La Salle, Lee, McHenry, Ogle and Winnebago counties, and applied to the cities of Algonquin, Aurora, Belvidere, Byron, Crystal Lake, DeKalb, Dixon, Elgin, La Salle, Marseilles, McHenry, Mendota, Oregon, Oswego, Ottawa, Plano, Rochelle, Rockford, Streator, Sycamore, Woodstock and Yorkville.

The weather service warned motorists to expect “slick and hazardous travel conditions” and urged them to “slow down and use caution” while driving on Sunday.

The Illinois Department of Transportation advised drivers to slow down, wear their seat belts, fill their gas tanks or plug in their cars and know if they have antilock brakes.

The snow that did stick may be around for a few days. The highs through at least Wednesday were expected to stay in the “upper 20s to mid-30s at best” with a better chance for highs into the upper 30s to low 40s on Wednesday and Thursday.

For updated road conditions, go to the Illinois Department of Transportation’s website, gettingaroundillinois.com.