Snowstorm: McHenry County expected to take direct hit with Tuesday precipitation

The 24-hour storm expected to dump snow on Illinois northern throughout Tuesday may be the heaviest snowfall the region has seen for a few years and McHenry County will be “ground zero” for the worst of it, National Weather Service senior meteorologist Brett Borchardt said.

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Several schools and had already announced Tuesday closures as of Monday evening, including Woodstock District 200, McHenry High School District 156, McHenry District 15, Marengo Union Elementary District 165, Marengo Community High School District 154, Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock, Harrison School District 36 in Wonder Lake, Marengo-based Riley District 18 and Zion Lutheran School in Marengo. Riley and Marengo High said it would do remote learning.

By midnight Tuesday, the county was expected to see between 7 to 11 inches of wet, heavy snow that the Romeoville-based Borchardt likened to “concrete.”

“It is our first big (snowstorm) in a couple of years,” Borchardt said. “The last few winters we did not see a snowstorm like this one.”

McHenry, DeKalb, Ogle, Lee, Winnebago and Boone counties are expected to see significant snowfall from the system, specifically targeted to hit Crystal Lake, Algonquin, McHenry, Woodstock, Rochelle, Oregon, Byron, Dixon, DeKalb and Sycamore.

The weather service’s confidence in the forecast was “pretty high,” Borchardt said.

The first flakes were expected to begin around midnight Monday, with snow continuing through Tuesday morning and another blast coming through later Tuesday afternoon. The snow is expected to stop around midnight Tuesday night.

Borchardt did not expect the snow would completely stop before that second Tuesday blast but continue throughout the day.

Temperatures are expected to hover right around freezing, leading to the heavy, wet and compacted snow.

David Christensen, McHenry County director of emergency management, said Monday he was hoping that the hype surrounding the storm might mean it peters out, or heads south.

“This is a scary storm” because of how wet and heavy expected snow will be, he said.

That, and the potential for high winds, could wreck havoc on power lines, Christensen said. “We have the potential of power outages, and I hope people are prepared for that.”

In McHenry County, the potential for power outages also means that people on private wells could also lose water, Christensen noted. ComEd is good about getting power back on quickly but if power goes out and remains out it is OK to call 911 for help, he added.

Overall, McHenry County residents know how to react to bad weather, Christensen said. “I have confidence in them. ... They know that if you don’t have to drive, don’t. And to use caution out there.”

Behind the storm, air temperatures are expected to stay in the upper 20s to low 30s on Wednesday and Thursday, Borchardt said. Another snow system could aim at the region on Friday.

Cold – with air temps in the single digits – is in the forecast for early next week but with a little less surety, Borchardt said.

There is some good news if the cold comes through.

“It looks like the next best chance to see the sun is next week. If it gets really cold the sun might come out,” Borchardt said.

Daily Chronicle Editor Kelsey Rettke contributed to this report.