State

Worst is over, but up to 5 inches of snow falls in northern McHenry County

Winter weather advisory was issued for early Saturday morning for a swath of northern Illinois

Ladd Park in Crystal Lake was covered in a blanket of snow Saturday, March 25, 2023, after flakes fell overnight and into the morning.

Spring officially started earlier this week, yet northern parts of McHenry County saw several inches of snow throughout Friday and Saturday.

While southern parts of the county, such as Crystal Lake, saw some accumulation, Harvard and other areas along the Wisconsin-Illinois state border saw up to five inches, National Weather Service meteorologist Lee Carlaw said.

Those totals are not yet finalized either, as some snow is still expected to fall throughout Saturday, Carlaw said. However, it should be done by around 2 p.m., but could add up to another inch in some areas.

“There won’t be a whole lot more accumulation,” Carlaw said. “The worst of it is over.”

A winter weather advisory was issued for early Saturday morning, and is slated to end early Saturday afternoon. Those affected included McHenry, Lake, DeKalb, Kane, Ogle, Lee, Winnebago and Boone counties.

Despite April being around the corner, Carlaw said it’s not unusual to have some bursts of snow like this. It just means a few extra factors have to line up, such as having snowfall heavy enough to overcome warmer weather.

The snow that fell throughout Friday and into Saturday had a narrow corridor, Carlaw said. Traveling in a northwestern direction, much of the accumulation was along the state border, with some parts of Wisconsin seeing more than a foot of snow.

There won’t be a whole lot more accumulation. The worst of it is over.

—  Meteorologist Lee Carlaw on snowfall throughout Friday and Saturday

This narrow corridor, combined with warmer weather, is why the southern part of McHenry County did not see much accumulation, Carlaw said.

For Rockford, the city received four inches of snow on April 27, 2019, Carlaw said. That said, the normal last date of one inch or more of snow in Rockford is March 18. For O’Hare International Airport, it’s March 20.

For “measurable snow,” which is 0.1 inches or more, the last day for Rockford is around April 1, and April 2 for O’Hare, Carlaw said.

“It’s definitely later than we would typically see for accumulating snow,” Carlaw said. “But anyone who lives here knows it can snow in March and well into April here.”

The snow might not be around for long though, Carlaw said. Much of it should melt today as temperatures will rise above freezing, and near the 40s on Sunday. Some light snow might fall Sunday morning, “but nothing meaningful.”

Temperatures will rise throughout the rest of the week, getting into the 50s on Friday, Carlaw said.

“Spring’s around the corner,” he said.

James Norman

James T. Norman

James also goes by Jake and became a journalist to pursue a love of writing. He originally joined the ranks to be involved with football, but over time fell in love with community reporting and explaining policies. You can catch him at his computer or your local meeting.