Illinois county issues shelter-in-place due to ‘life-threatening weather conditions' in winter storm

While Northeastern Illinois was under a winter weather advisory with lake effect snow expected Monday, Washington County in downstate Illinois was under a shelter-in-place order after a major winter storm brought "life-threatening weather conditions" with snow, ice, power outages, and major travel impacts, with spin-outs and crashes.

According to Washington County Illinois Management Agency, a shelter-in-place was issued just before 5 a.m. Monday. It wasn't immediately known how long the order would be in place.

Monday morning, the Washington County Sherriff's Office told NBC Chicago that driving and travel conditions due to the winter storm were hazardous, saying the "main roads are all terrible."

"It's been pretty rough," the agency said on Facebook. "First responders have been running all night."

Some power outages were also reported in the area, with Tri-County Electric Cooperative and Ameren reporting more than 20,000 customers without power, according to outages maps.

Sunday, the Illinois State Police Troop Six announced its emergency snow plan had been activated due to the winter weather. Multiple crashes and spin-outs were reported Monday in Lincoln, with maps and cameras showing blowing snow and ice covering roads.

In the Chicago area, O'Hare International Airport issued a ground stop for departures due to the winter weather, with more than 100 flights canceled. The ground stop was expected to continue through at least 9:30 a.m., according to the FAA.

Winter road conditions across the Midwest

The winter storm wasn't just pummeling Illinois.

Snow and ice blanketed major roads across Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the state’s National Guard was activated to help stranded motorists. Nearly 300,000 customers were without power early Monday across Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois and Missouri, according to electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us.

In Kansas and Missouri, winter storm warnings were issued, with blizzard conditions bringing wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour. The warnings extended to New Jersey for Monday and into early Tuesday.

“For locations in this region that receive the highest snow totals, it may be the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade,” the weather service said.

Over the weekend, at least 600 motorists were stranded in Missouri, authorities said. Hundreds of car accidents were reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky, where a state trooper was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening after his patrol car was hit.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who declared a state emergency, said government buildings would be closed Monday.

“We see far too many wrecks out there for people that do not have to be on the roads, so I want to ask: Stay inside,” Beshear said.

In Indiana, snow fully covered portions of Interstate 64, Interstate 69 and U.S. Route 41, prompting Indiana State Police to plead with motorists to stay off the roads as plows worked to keep up.

“It’s snowing so hard, the snow plows go through and then within a half hour the roadways are completely covered again,” Sgt. Todd Ringle said.

Topeka, Kansas, reported 14.5 inches (36.8 centimeters) about 8 p.m. Sunday, according to the weather service.

Kansas City International Airport received a record snowfall of 11 inches (28 centimeters) on Sunday, breaking the previous record for the day of 10.1 inches (26 centimeters) set in 1962, according to the weather service’s office in Kansas City, Missouri. In Kentucky, Louisville recorded 7.7 inches (19.5 centimeters) of snow on Sunday, a new record for the date that shattered the previous mark of 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) set in 1910.

School closings

Although the Chicago area was seeing lake-effect snow and a winter weather advisory issued, schools in Northeastern Illinois remained open during the weather, according to the Emergency Closing Center.

Elsewhere however, they were expected to be widespread.

Districts in Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas began announcing cancellations and delays on Sunday afternoon. Kentucky’s Jefferson County Public Schools canceled classes, extracurricular activities and athletics for its nearly 100,000 students.

Classes also have been cancelled in Maryland, where Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency Sunday and announced the state government would be closed Monday.

How much snow in Chicago?

While some areas were seeing patchy, freezing drizzle Monday morning, others were seeing lake effect snow, with more expected to fall in Lake County in Illinois and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.

According to Roman, the plume could intensify at times Monday morning.

"During the lake effect snow, the weather can vary from bands of locally heavy snow to dry weather just a few miles away," the NWS warned. "Visibilities can also vary greatly. Be prepared for rapid changes in weather, visibility and road conditions."

Monday afternoon, the snow was mostly expected to impact central and southern Cook County, NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman said, before moving into Northwest Indiana by the evening time.

By Monday night, the snow was expected to move into Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana, Roman said.

The snow could amount to as much as four inches in some parts, Roman said.

"We've already had a few inches in Lake County," Roman said, noting between two and three inches of additional snow could fall.

Most other areas will see between two and four inches, Roman said.

Conditions Tuesday were expected to be mostly dry, Roman said, with the next best chance for snow coming Friday.

Cold temperatures were expected to linger, Roman added, with highs in the 20s Monday and throughout the week.