Snow blows into county
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| Princeton girls Joelle LaPlante (from left), 22 months, and her sister, Cearra LaPlante, 4, play in the snow Monday morning with their friend, Rachelle Newberry, 4, after their Bright Beginning and Early Beginning classes at the Douglas Elementary School in Princeton. Bureau County schools were in session Monday in spite of the weekend snowstorm. (BCR photo/Donna Barker) |
PRINCETON — Blowing snow, icy roads and tense drivers. Welcome to winter in Bureau County.
The first snowstorm of the 2008-09 winter season hit Bureau County late Saturday night and still continued into Monday. Snow totals reached up to six inches around the county, causing difficult driving conditions throughout the county.
Bureau County Sheriff John Thompson said he counted at least 10 cars in the ditch when coming to work Monday morning on Interstate 80, between Ladd and Princeton. The snow was a wet snow, and with the temperatures below freezing, the conditions became very icy, Thompson said.
Monday morning reports of traffic accidents sent his officers responding to accident scenes from Manlius to LaMoille.
“It’s pretty treacherous out there,” Thompson said Monday morning. “Drivers often get caught by surprise when it comes to that first winter storm. The key is to drive slow and to be cautious.”
Also on Monday morning, Princeton Police Chief Tom Root said there hadn’t been any reports yet of weather-related accidents in the city. However, traffic flow would no doubt pick-up as people head back to work, he said.
The most difficult part of driving on snow and ice-covered streets and roads is stopping at intersections, Root said. When faced with winter traveling conditions, people need to slow down, make sure their windows aren’t obstructed and give themselves extra time to reach their destinations.
Bureau County Highway Engineer John Gross said his crews were out about 8 a.m. Sunday and worked until about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, scraping off the slush and applying material at the curves, bridges and intersections.
On Monday, the county crews were at work by 4 a.m. and expected to work a 14-hour day. The goal is to get everyone to work and school safely, and to get them all home safely at night, Gross said.
“We’ve got a long stretch of winter ahead of us, but we’re seasoned professionals, and we’ve encountered these conditions before,” Gross said.
When drivers come upon snowplows, Gross said his recommendation is to not pass the snowplows doing their work. Also, leave plenty of distance between snow plows and other vehicles on the road, he added.
According to NewsChannel 8 WQAD StormTrack 8000 meteorologist Anthony Peoples, places in Bureau County reported up to six inches of snow since the storm began Saturday evening. Central Illinois was hardest hit, with some places reporting nearly seven inches of snow, he said.
Looking to the rest of the week, WQAD is predicting temperatures in the high 30s for today, Tuesday, which should melt a good amount of the snow. There is another chance for light snow on Wednesday, Peoples said.
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