May 13, 2024
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Will County over the weekend: snow, cold and calls for help

The weather was fun for kids, not for motorists

By Denise M. Baran-Unland
Sledders prepare for their turn down the hill on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, at Cene's Four Seasons Park in Shorewood, Ill. Nearly a foot of snow covered Will County overnight, resulting in fun for some and challenges for others.

Sledders prepare for their turn down the hill on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, at Cene's Four Seasons Park in Shorewood, Ill. Nearly a foot of snow covered Will County overnight, resulting in fun for some and challenges for others. (Geoff Stellfox/Geoff Stellfox - gstellfox@shawmedia.com)

Whether or not you enjoyed the snow this weekend, this is certain: Will County had plenty of it.

Depending on the area, Will County received anywhere from 4 to 12 inches of snow, according to Lee Carlaw, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville.

Only about 1 to 4 inches of snow fell on Sunday, with people in the northern part of the county seeing more, Carlaw said.

While that was good news for sledding and people building snowmen, it was bad news for some motorists.

The Illinois State Police District 5 reportedly received calls for 40 crashes from 3 p.m. Saturday through 3 p.m. Sunday.

The crashes occurred on Crashes occurred on Interstate 80, 55, I355, and Route 30, according to Gabriela Ugarte of the Illinois State Police, Public Information Office Northern Region.

Two of those crashes involved injuries, Ugarte said.

The Illinois State Police also received 130 calls from drivers requesting assistance, she added.

On Sunday, Kevin Birk, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville, said this snow was “definitely, it’s our biggest snowfall in a number of years.”

Will more snow be coming this week? Maybe a little bit, Carlaw said, but nothing like this past weekend.

“It’s more likely to change to rain by Thursday afternoon,” Carlaw said.

Will County may see a bit of freezing rain Thursday, too, but not for long as the warmer system moves in and temperatures rise to the 30s, Carlaw said.

But don’t expect those temperatures to hold. Temperatures are expected to drop to zero this weekend.

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Nehemiah Dawson slides down the hill on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, at Cene's Four Seasons Park in Shorewood, Ill. Nearly a foot of snow covered Will County overnight, resulting in fun for some and challenges for others.

Nehemiah Dawson slides down the hill on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, at Cene's Four Seasons Park in Shorewood, Ill. (Geoff Stellfox/Geoff Stellfox - gstellfox@shawmedia.com)