Naperville received more than seven inches of snow in the storm that moved through the area Wednesday and Thursday, officials said.
National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Doom said snowfall counts out of Naperville indicated six to eight inches fell depending on what part of the city was reporting.
“We had totals anywhere from just a dusting in Rockford’s vicinity to a little more than a foot in central Illinois and northwest Indiana,” Doom said.
City of Naperville spokeswoman Linda LaCloche said the city’s official count was about seven inches, enough to result in 15 car collisions between 4 a.m. Wednesday and 8 a.m. Thursday and to require snowplow drivers to be on the streets through Thursday morning.
Cul-de-sac snow clearing began about noon Wednesday with the use of contracted drivers. According to a city update, plow-and-salt operations for all city roadways and cul-de-sacs were completed by by 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
Because garbage and recycling collection had to be canceled Wednesday, the pickup schedule has been pushed back by a day.
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After-school activities at Naperville School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204 were canceled Wednesday and Indian Prairie’s ninth-grade orientation sessions at its three high schools were rescheduled, officials said.
Naperville Park District also canceled all programs being held at District 203 or 204 buildings and the child care center at Fort Hill Activity Center was closed Wednesday night.
District 203 and 204 schools were open Wednesday, a decision criticized by some parents.
“After consulting with Naperville 203 staff, (officials for the city of) Naperville and neighboring districts, Naperville 203 will open as planned,” District 203 Superintendent Dan Bridges said in a Tweet posted just after 5 a.m. Wednesday.
Bridges and Indian Prairie Superintendent Adrian Talley said any student who didn’t attend school Wednesday due to the weather would have their absence excused.
“I, along with other staff members, drive throughout the district to assess the road conditions,” Talley said in an online letter. “I also have conversations with numerous individuals including our transportation provider, custodial staff and other district superintendents to determine the feasibility of having our students in person learning.”
Bridges wrote in a separate letter that, “At 4:45 a.m. (Wednesday) those factors indicated that, while travel may be slow and we would need to exercise caution, we could have a typical school day. Unfortunately, the conditions changed quicker than anticipated.”
District 203 also addressed a fake social media post Wednesday that featured a graphic that was falsely claimed to have been sent out by Bridges.
“The graphic makes false claims that serious car accidents have occurred and advises that students should not come to school. This is not a real message and was not sent by Naperville 203,” the district said.
No additional snowfall other than flurries is expected for the rest of the week, but it will be cold, according to the National Weather forecast available Thursday afternoon. High temperatures will be in the high teens and low 20s Friday and Saturday and overnight lows expected to be 1 Friday night and 13 Saturday night.
“We’re not expecting any more snow through the weekend. And we should finally start getting good sunshine beginning Friday,” he said.