Stay tuned, stay safe as forecast is subject to change in La Salle County

Buy an extra gallon of milk if you want to, but forecasters don’t believe the Illinois Valley will be walloped with snow Monday night. Certainly, there will be no blizzard.

But the National Weather Service is advising residents of North Central Illinois to stay tuned for weather updates – the incoming system isn’t tracking clearly – and to exercise caution on the roads through Tuesday. There will be a combination of snow, rain and wind that could mean treacherous driving conditions.

Authorities encourage motorists to stay tuned to the weather and avoid unnecessary trips. Motorists should also carry emergency provisions such as bottled water, blanket and first-aid kit while waiting for help to arrive.

“If that thing shifts more north we may be looking at more rain. If its shifts to the south we may be looking at more snow. There have been some last-minute wiggles and wobbles.”

—  Zachary Yack, meteorologist with National Weather Service in Romeoville

Forecasters have been tracking a system that’s expected to arrive Monday night bringing 1 to 3 inches – maybe 2 to 4 inches in Streator and the La Salle County panhandle – through Tuesday morning, along with winds gusting up to 25 mph.

Tuesday’s forecast is fuzzy. Zachary Yack, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville, said winds are expected to tick up to 30-mph gusts while the precipitation potentially shifts from snow to rain and back.

“If that thing shifts more north we may be looking at more rain,” Yack said. “If its shifts to the south we may be looking at more snow.

“There have been some last-minute wiggles and wobbles.”

Jeff Senica would agree with that. Senica is owner of Senica Interstate Towing in La Salle and he’s heard alternate forecast of 3 to 5 inches of snow –“It all depends on which weatherman you talk to,” he quipped – followed by rain.

In any case, he and his drivers are caught up dealing with Saturday’s snow and they’re ready for the early-week weather – whatever that might bring.

“There are lot of variables here,” Senica said, “but we’ve got all our drivers prepared.”

One of those variables is temperature. Forecasts show temperatures hovering several key degrees above freezing Monday and Tuesday – at least during the daytime – with overnight lows not much below freezing.

Warmer-than-normal temperatures have been a theme this winter. Trent Ford, Illinois state climatologist, reported on Jan. 3 that Rockford had its second-warmest December on record and Peoria its third warmest.

“For the second time in three years Illinois has experienced an extremely mild December,” Ford wrote. “All but three days last month were warmer than normal in Decatur, and several days in the second and fourth weeks of the month were 10 to 20 degrees warmer than normal.”

Wetter than normal, too, though there is no immediate danger of river flooding. Though December precipitation was more than a half inch above normal, the Illinois River stands several feet below flood stage.