Politics & Government
NWS: Roadways Could Be 'Treacherous' Tonight
The National Weather Service predicts wind gusts as high as 35 mph and over eight inches of snow for some areas.
UPDATE 5 P.M. Jan. 12: The McHenry County Sheriff's Department sent out a traffic advisory at 4:39 p.m. Jan. 12 letting people know they should expect their commute to take two to three times longer than normal.
The advisory noted traffic was very heavy on roadways.
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Find out what's happening in Algonquin-Lake In The Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
UPDATE 4 P.M. Jan. 12
Road conditions are expected to worsen as the afternoon wears on and as many take to the roadways for their evening commute.
Find out what's happening in Algonquin-Lake In The Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Police and emergency personnel stayed busy this afternoon with several reports of vehicle run-offs, vehicles spinning out on roadways and crashes in McHenry County, according to police scanner reports.
As of 3:30 p.m., roadways in McHenry County as well as counties running south to Naperville and east to Chicago had patches of snow and ice, according to the Department of Transportation’s winter weather conditions website. The website provides updates on road conditions for Illinois.
Wind gusts could reach as high as 35 mph for those under a winter weather warning, which includes McHenry County and much of northeastern Illinois, according to the National Weather Service. Lake in the Hills could see between three and five of snow with an additional 2 to 4 inches predicted overnight. Wind chills are expected to be near zero Friday morning.
The combination of snow and wind gusts could make driving conditions dicey.
“Accumulating snow and reduced visibilities will likely make travel treacherous tonight into early Friday morning…especially in open areas,” according to the NWS. “Heavy snowfall rates may make it difficult for snow removal operations to keep up in some areas through the evening.”
While no area school districts have announced any closures, some area churches have cancelled religious education classes and other programs for this evening and tonight. Light of Christian Church in Algonquin cancelled music rehearsals for today and the Evangelical Free Church of Crystal Lake is closed today.
For updates on closures, visit the Emergency Closing Center website.
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