Leftover snow, cold greeted residents returning to work in La Salle, Bureau counties

Nikki Baer, of La Salle, finished her holiday weekend trudging door-to-door through snow. Baer needed signatures for a precinct committee post and heard a familiar refrain from her signers.

“Wow, you picked a really crappy day to do this,” Baer was told, repeatedly.

She certainly did. November had been rather warm and sunny – the week before Thanksgiving topped out in the 60s – but that screeched to a halt on Black Friday. The mercury swung 15 degrees south after Turkey Day and by Sunday the snowfall prompted residents to sign Baer’s petitions before she caught a cold.

This system we had over the weekend was typical. It wasn’t early. It wasn’t late. It was kind of what we expect for late November, really.”

—  Casey Sullivan, National Weather Service

“I had my signatures knocked out before noon,” Baer said.

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A Illinois Department of Transportation snow plow pushes snow along Route 89 on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, in Spring Valley. The Route 89 corridor was listed as a hazardous road for travel because of the blowing and drifting conditions that created icy roadways. (Scott Anderson)

About 2 to 3 inches accumulated Saturday night into Sunday throughout La Salle, Bureau and Putnam counties. The average first 1-inch calendar day snowfall (based on 30 year period 1991-2020) is Dec. 7 for Chicago and Dec. 4 for Rockford, according to the National Weather Service in Chicago.

Winter doesn’t begin for another three weeks but that will come as news to residents who spent Monday morning shoveling walkways and scraping windshields amid biting cold. For those wondering if Old Man Winter came early this year, the National Weather Service said the answer is an emphatic “no.”

“This system we had over the weekend was typical,” said Casey Sullivan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville. “It wasn’t early. It wasn’t late. It was kind of what we expect for late November, really.”

Travelwise, the snow could have fallen at a worse time. Though the snow arrived at the tail end of one of the busiest holiday travel weekends, motorists were attuned to the forecast and, according to one towing company’s report, that kept the number of weather-related crashes and spinouts to a manageable sum.

“We were very busy,” said Angie Senica, dispatcher for Senica Interstate Towing in La Salle, “but it wasn’t the craziest and not all our guys were out.”

La Salle County Sheriff Adam Diss agreed the crash total was muted. One of his deputies reported tending to three crashes – more the result of speeding than poor road conditions – but overall it appears motorists stayed put.

“I usually get a call from the deputies if it’s going badly or they want another car out to help,” Diss said, “and I didn’t hear a peep.”

Putnam County Sheriff’s Office warned residents traveling Route 89 that it had become hazardous for travel.

An area travel agent said Monday there were no signs the snowfall impeded return flights for those who’d taken Thanksgiving getaways.

“Everything went smoothly,” said Anna Lijewski, owner of La Salle County Travel in La Salle. “I haven’t gotten any calls and no news is good news.”

Whether the weekend blast of snow and cold was an aberration or a sign of things to come is an open question. At the Romeoville forecasting station, Sullivan confirmed we’re entering an El Nino winter, which means the 2023-24 season is expected to be drier and warmer than average.

“But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a snow storm,” Sullivan said. “It doesn’t mean you can’t have a rain storm. It doesn’t mean you can’t get cold as we did (Monday).”

The cold won’t be limited to Monday, either. Bitter temperatures will linger through mid-week, with a daytime high Tuesday of just 23 degrees followed by a less frigid high of 37 degrees on Wednesday. Overnight lows will hover well below freezing.

A little relief is in sight Thursday, which will bring a daytime high of 43 degrees but maybe another round of snow, too. December begins Friday with a 40% chance of snow showers.

If you’ve already put up your outdoor Christmas decorations and your neighbor teased you about doing so before Thanksgiving, then now it’s your turn to laugh.

Faced with a jam-packed December schedule, Judge Melissa Olivero of Peru put up her Christmas decor extra early. A wiseguy reminded Olivero it’s still No-Vember (as in NO decorating until after Thanksgiving), but Olivero proved herself smarter than him.

“I hope I didn’t bring the snow with my early decorating,” Olivero said hesitantly, “but I am glad I decorated early this year.”