Morning snow causes ‘sloppy’ conditions in Joliet area with bitter cold on the way

Monday morning brought almost two inches of snow to the Joliet area, which caused messy conditions for commuters.

The National Weather Service’s Chicago office, which is located in Romeoville, reported 1.8 inches of snowfall as of midday Monday.

While the total snowfall amount wasn’t huge, the timing of the precipitation caused some problems for those driving to work in and around Joliet. Joliet Public Works Director Greg Ruddy said his road crews started work around 3 a.m. Monday, but the snow came right as traffic reached its busy period.

“The snow came heavily down during the morning commute,” Ruddy said. “There were some sloppy roads.”

He said his crews still were able to clear the main roads and other key areas around schools and emergency routes and then residential areas as the day went on.

Local law enforcement agencies reported several minor traffic incidents during the time snow was falling in and around Joliet, although no major accidents or injuries.

The Illinois State Police reported nine crashes involving property damage in District 5, which includes Will, Kendall and Grundy counties, Trooper Genelle Jones said. ISP also had to assist eight motorists between midnight and late morning Monday.

Jones said the state police could not specify which of those incidents were specifically attributable to the weather conditions.

The Will County Sheriff’s Office handled four traffic incidents Monday morning, Deputy Chief Mark Kedziora said, including one accident with minor property damage in Joliet Township. Kedziora said that most incidents occurred around 7 a.m. and no serious injuries were reported.

Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English said officers responded to about 15 minor traffic incidents between midnight and 7 a.m.

Kevin Birk, a meteorologist with the NWS Chicago office, warned that while the snow mostly will stay away over the next few days, the Joliet area will see cold temperatures. The forecast calls for single digit-degree weather throughout Tuesday, although with the wind chill, it could feel as cold as between negative 15 or 20, Birk said.

The NWS warns of “elevated excessive cold risk” for the Chicago area throughout Tuesday and Wednesday.

“It’s going to be a cold day,” Birk said. “There’s definitely some bitter cold coming.”

For information, visit weather.gov.