Winter landed a one-two punch of heavy snow and high winds on the Elgin area Friday and Saturday, followed by a blast of bitter cold expected to stick around for several days.
After dumping about 11 inches of snow on the Elgin area since Thursday night, another inch to an inch an a half was expected overnight Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
Sunday’s high temperature of about zero will feel more like minus 25 thanks to the windchill resulting from wind gusts of 15 to 20 mph, said Brett Borchardt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“It’s going to be very windy, with really low visibility,” he said.
That “big punch” of frigid cold coming down from Canada will stay in the area through at least mid-week, with the worst of it expected Sunday through Tuesday, Borchardt said.
It’s hard to predict how long it will take the slow-moving weather system to move eastward out of the Midwest, he said, but it could hang on through the end of the coming week.
Borchardt’s advice is to use “common-sense safety precautions” — avoid being outside when possible and dress appropriately for the conditions.
Snowstorms started moving through the area Thursday night, the first blanketing Elgin with about 8 inches of snow by Friday morning, made worse by wind gusts as high as 45 mph. That was followed by another 2 to 3 inches between mid-day Friday and Saturday morning.
With as much as another 11/2 inches expected overnight Saturday into Sunday, the Elgin total will be somewhere in the 12-inch range, Borchardt said.
What’s being seen is not unlike what’s been occurring for the last few years, National Weather Service meteorologist Jake Petr said Friday.
Lately, the area has “tended to have warmer Decembers and less snowfall, then it really picks up in January. It’s certainly the case with what’s happening this year,” Petr said. “Since it’s winter, it had to get here at some point.”
The first round of snow led to closures around the area, including School District U-46 and Community School District 300 schools, Gail Borden Public Library, Edward Schock Centre of Elgin, Dundee Township Park District facilities and Elgin Community College. Hundreds of flights out of O’Hare International Airport and Midway Airport were canceled due to the weather.
Elgin closed all nonemergency buildings and its 311 system Friday, and the city’s MLK Prayer Breakfast was rescheduled from Saturday to Jan. 20.
Despite the heavy snow, there were only a few power outages reported in Kane County, according to ComEd’s website.
Public works crews were working to keep roads clear, with Elgin’s crews started before midnight Thursday, said Edell Fiedler, the city’s director of communications and engagement. There were 26 routes covered, and five additional trucks deployed later Friday morning, she said.
Elgin reminded residents that parking is not allowed on designated snow emergency routes for 24 hours following a snow event with two inches or more. Elgin police try to contact vehicle owners before a vehicle is towed, officials said.
Elgin police had only a few minor accidents Friday, said Sgt. Mike Martino, public information officer, but South Elgin police handled one involving a Pace on Route 31 Friday morning. According to South Elgin Police Sgt. Bryan Kmieciak, a vehicle in front of the bus made a sudden stop, causing the Pace bus driver to slam on the brakes and crash into a building.
The building at 670 N. Lafox St. had some structural damage, but the business that occupies it, A-1 Automotive Repair and Services, remained open, Kmieciak said. The crash resulted in a gas line leak that handled by Nicor, he said.
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No injuries were reported and no one was on the bus at the time, Kmieciak said. Route 31 was closed for two hours while police handled the incident, he said.
South Elgin police had no other major accidents, but “we had a lot of motorists assists (calls) with vehicles off the road,” Kmieciak said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.