Winter Storm in De Kalb, Illinois

A powerful cold front swept across northern Illinois during the evening and early overnight hours of January 26th into the 27th. While only 2 to 4 inches of snow fell across the area, winds gusting up to 58 mph at times behind the front lead to temporary blizzard-like conditions that caused severe impacts to area roadways. Boone County Sheriff reported all county roads drifted over with numerous vehicles drifted over and stranded. State Route 173 remained closed even during the day on the 27th due to continued blowing and drifting. Five to six foot drifts were reported and road crews were unable to keep up with drifting. Illinois State Police in District 16 serving Winnebago and Boone counties reported numerous vehicles stranded. In Kankakee and Iroquois counties, I-57 was snow covered, and over 80 vehicles were reportedly stuck in ditches or medians. Illinois State Police in District 5 serving Kendall, Grundy, and Will counties reported over 100 cars stuck and described I-57 as a wasteland. State Routes 45 and 52 among others were drifted over. Kane County EOC reported that especially areas west of Route 47 had lots of problems with numerous roads impassable. DeKalb County EOC received around 290 reports of stranded vehicles. There were also 7 injuries and a fatality due to accidents. They also noted that white-out conditions lasted about two hours. Illinois State Police in District 1 serving Ogle and Lee counties reported white-out conditions that prevented plows from getting out onto the roads. Two semis wrecked on I-80 and numerous cars were stranded. La Salle County Sheriff reported that State Route 251 was closed between Peru and Mendota. Livingston County Sheriff reported a semi jack-knifed on I-55 and several vehicles had slid into ditches. Some of the strongest measured wind gusts included: Sugar Grove Airport (54 mph at 811 PM CST); Rockford Airport (52 mph at 716 PM CST); Peru Airport (52 mph at 735 PM CST); and Pontiac Airport (51 mph at 915 PM CST).