Winter Weather in Southern Will County, Illinois

A period of wet snow fell across portions of northern Illinois during the early to mid afternoon of February 4th. A strong cold front moved across the area in the early evening, bringing much colder air, strong winds and periods of heavy fluffy snow. The strong winds and heavy snow produced near blizzard conditions across many areas of northern Illinois through early morning on February 5th, with the worst conditions across northwest Illinois. Route 251 was closed in La Salle County and 34 drivers had to be rescued due to the blowing snow and poor visibility. In Lee County, 18 people were rescued with some stranded for as long as 6 to 8 hours. Snowfall amounts were generally in the 2 to 4 inch range. Rockford Airport measured 1.6 inches and Chicago O'Hare Airport measured 2.4 inches.