Intense snowfall blanketed parts of northwest Indiana Friday afternoon, making for a challenging situation outdoors, particularly on the roads. NBC 5’s Lexi Sutter reports.
As a "complex" storm system hits parts of the Chicago area, a handful of counties are under a winter storm warning or a winter storm advisory, with slush, quick snowfall and gusty winds predicted to be the main threats.
According to the National Weather Service, a winter storm warning for Kankakee and eastern Will Counties in Illinois, as well as Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana took effect at 2 p.m. Friday.
In those counties, "heavy, wet snow is expected," an alert from the NWS says, "with total snow accumulations of between three and six inches."
In Grundy, northern and southern Will Counties, and southern Cook Counties, a winter weather advisory also went into effect at 2 p.m. There, a wintry mix of rain and wet, slushy snow is more likely, with a "brief period of heavy snow rates and sharply reduced visibility possible."
DuPage County and parts of Cook County were previously included in the advisory, but removed Friday afternoon, according to new alerts from the NWS.
South of the city however, strong winds gusts as high as 50 miles per hour are expected until 9 p.m., with "damaging gusts" possible between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., the NWS said in a tweet.
Local
In a statement released Thursday, ComEd says it was putting in place equipment and additional crews in order to be "prepared for potential power outages."
“We know this can be a one-two punch for people who were affected by last week’s weather," President and COO of ComEd Terence Donnelly said in an email, making reference to an ice storm last week that resulted in power knocked out for some 200,000 customers. "We are taking proactive steps now to be ready to work quickly and safely to restore power to any customers who lose service," Donnelly added.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
According to the NWS, both the warning and the advisory will expire at 10 p.m. Friday.
Timing of the Storm
Much of the winter weather is not expected to hit until the late afternoon commute, between 2 and 6 p.m., the NWS said, when quick snowfall is expected to occur in some parts.
"Plan on slush covered roads during the evening commute," the NWS says in the winter storm alert, "strong winds will further reduce visibility in falling snow and could bring down tree branches."
By 3:30 p.m., forecasters reported deteriorating conditions leading to numerous accidents.
The Kankakee County Sheriff's office said numerous crashes had been reported throughout the county "due to the snow."
"If you must drive, please allow yourself additional time for your commute, slow down and drive carefully," the sheriff's office said.
According to forecast models, the most hazardous travel is also likely to occur across northwest Indiana, east of I-57.
While timing remains the same for the counties in the winter weather advisory, precipitation in those parts is more likely stay in the form of rain potentially transitioning to snow, the NBC 5 Storm Team says. However, the rate of precipitation is could snarl roads.
"Plan on hazardous road conditions including the Friday afternoon and evening commute," the NWS says. "If snow falls hard enough, some slushy accumulations are possible on untreated roads."
"Slush may develop on bridges and overpasses and cause a few slick spots during the evening commute," the NWS says.
Additionally strong winds are likely to last much of the day, with the strongest gusts between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., forecast models show.
This story has been updated to reflect that the winter storm warning and advisory have been pushed back until 2 p.m. This story has also been updated to reflect the current counties included in the advisory and warning.
