Tuesday's Troubles

Update 1:05pm = The aforementioned band of snow has continued to push northeastward and snow has started again across much of the area. All the weather stations in our viewing area are reporting temperatures below freezing, and with cold air aloft I would imagine just about all of this is snow. Even our most southeast observation, DeKalb, is reporting light snow. Accumulations will begin again as we have what appears to be several more hours of snow.

Road conditions are highly variable. Parts of major roadways may go from pretty clear to snow-covered over a short distance. The worst road conditions will be on secondary roads, and on any roads/highways prone to blowing snow.


Update 10:45am = The first round of heavy snow is exiting the region. We will have to keep a close eye on the activity in northern Missouri and eastern Kansas. That batch of snow appears to be moving to the northeast and could enter the region this afternoon. At this distance it is tough to call whether it will stick together, if it will fall apart, or if it will just miss us to the south.

Update 9:45am = About a half inch of ice encrusted snow out here at the station. Visibilities in most locations have dropped below one mile. Some folks have been wondering if the earlier switch over to snow means more snow... not the case with this one. I just believe the event will be done earlier. The snow is already weakening significantly around the Quad Cities and near Dubuque. It must be noted that the worst conditions are in southern Wisconsin. Many reports around Madison have already surfaced regarding 4-8" totals with snow still falling.

Original Post = Many school districts have already closed down. Here is the link for the latest on school closings.

Rain and even some freezing rain has fallen overnight in northern Illinois with a wintry mix up in southern Wisconsin. Some minor ice accumulations have been reported, which is going to make for a bad combination today. With patchy ice already on our roads, travel is going to become even more problematic as we dump some snow on top of that ice.

The change over from rain to snow is taking place about two hours earlier than expected in the Rockford metro. As of 8am, this storm system has already squeezed out .32" of liquid at RFD with amounts close to 1" between Rochelle and DeKalb. What you may have already noticed on the right hand side of the screen is that I shifted the snow contours about 10-20 miles north. I have downgraded the snowfall forecast for the Rockford metro to 2-4". I have done this, because this morning's model runs have shortened the duration of the snow event. Instead of the snow ending in Winnebago County around 6pm, I could see it being near 3pm or earlier.

There is still going to be a sharp cutoff between some impressive totals and some paltry amounts. Starting with the highest, Madison and Milwaukee could end up with close to 8" of snow by this evening. If you live in southern Wisconsin you are probably staring at 4-6" of snow. Locations like Rockton, Roscoe, and South Beloit could be near this 4-6" range as well. The farther south you live, the less snow you will have to shovel. Most spots along Interstate 88 will only tally an inch or two.

What is going to make matters worse is the fact that our winds are starting to strengthen. Right now we've got sustained winds at 15 mph out of the NE and it appears we could run into some gusts near 30 mph by the noon hour. This is going to cause some blowing and drifting snow as well as reduce our visibilities significantly.

Finally, in addition to helping you, you can help us. Your current condition and snowfall reports are invaluable. Sections of the radar scan are having a tough time with precipitation type at this time. Having two eyes on the ground for confirmation is handy. To submit your snowfall totals and your current conditions send an email to weather@wrex.com along with your name and location. -ADAM