2/13/07-2/14/07 NOW: MIDWEST (WINTER PRECIP)

[Dan Cook]

I came in from outside; winds are approaching 30 mph sustained on my kestrel.

 

[Chris Hayes]

We're up to about 6" here. My fear of a dry slot rolling in, cutting off the snow appears as if it isnt going to occur. Calling for 6-10 more inches tonight, and 2-4 more inches tommorow.

 

[John Farley]

The heavier snow is over here, with about 3 inches, as well as a quarter inch of ice and sleet under the snow. Most of the snow fell between about 11:20 and 2:30. We do have some light snow moving in from the NW with the trailing short wave over northern MO, so we might still get the total up to 4. Lots of blowing and drifting, and in part due to the ice under the snow, numerous road closures in the St. Louis area due to wrecks and pileups. Snow amounts vary widely in the STL area from NW to SE, with around 6 inches in some of the northwestern locations down to mostly rain and sleet in the far SE.

 

[Andrew Herron]

A fine snow has started to fall here in Westland. It's accumulating quickly and visibility is down to a half mile with about an 1/8th inch on the ground. Winds are gusting between 20-30mph.

Update
1/4" of snow on the ground the flakes are getting bigger. Visibility is still low at about a half mile. Winds are about the same with gusts probably around 35 mph.

 

[Michael Rogers]

We have about 6 inches of new snow from this system so far (on top of about 4 inches already on the ground) in the northern suburbs of Chicago. The lake effect snow machine has just been turned on but it looks like only another couple inches will fall from that in my county (Lake County, IL). Right now, it's coming down at a decent rate of about an inch per hour. It does seem like more that that due to the blowing snow mixed in though. South of the city there is a narrow lake effect snow band dumping about 2-3 inches per hour over an area from about Michigan City, Indiana to Kankakee, Illinois and it's been doing so for the last hour and a half.

The main threat in the Northern suburbs will be blowing and drifting snow. There was a 4 foot drift against my garage earlier today. Many of the roads will be clear tonight but there will be several isolated patches of snow cover. If somebody is on a clear road driving at normal speeds and then hits a 2-3 inch snow patch on the road, it could spell disaster. I expect more than a few accidents due to this overnight. The snowplows in my town of Mundelein have all but quit plowing the side streets. Their main concern at this moment are the major roads since they cover back up almost as soon as they are cleared. The crew in Mundelein always does a spectacular job keeping the roads clear (I'd say the best in the county, if not the state), but even they are having trouble today.

As of this current moment, the winds aren't as bad as I thought they would be. Only about 10mph sustained with semi-frequent gusts to 20 and very brief isolated gusts to 30. Some of you in the central parts of Illinois are seeing double that with reports of gusts into the 50mph range.

Most schools even here in the northeastern part of the state have been closed. My former college, Western Illinois University in Macomb, has been shut down for the second time this year. Previous to 2006/2007, the school wasn't shut down for over 20 years due to the weather.

Funny how a foot of snow sounds like nothing compared to areas like Oswego, NY (who will see another couple of feet in the next couple days), but this is the first major snowstorm for many areas in the Midwest this season. As I’ve read on here before, if it’s going to be cold, it might as well snow. And if it’s going to snow, it might as well snow a lot. Enjoy it folks.

 

[Andrew Pritchard]

Still snowing very hard here... last total I heard for here in Champaign was 12 inches, with still several hours to go. This is in addition to the 5 inches we already had, so snow cover is nearing 20 inches. Drifts are up to my waist and higher in some areas. I went out and shot some video and still photos and will post those later on.

Classes have already been cancelled for tomorrow as well.

 

[Joel Wright]

Looks like we got almost 7" here in Erie IL (about 25 miles northeast of Moline/Quad Cities IL). Still snowing lightly, but I think the accumulating snow is about finished.

Snowdepth is now 11".

Edit: I'll post some pics in the report thread later tonight after I get done removing the snow from my driveway and walks lol.

 

[John Farley]

The snow ended in Edwardsville, IL around 8 p.m., as the last batch of snow moved through, weakening as it did so. The storm total here was about three and a half inches. Due to both the ice underneath and the considerable blowing and drifting, the snow caused more problems in the STL area than you would generally expect with the amount of snow that fell (even for STL drivers, LOL).

 

[Michael Rogers]

Still snowing here in Lake County, IL. The lake effect weather machine is certainly coming down harder than I expected. We've had a narrow band come right over my town of Mundelein the last few hours, which has put on another 4 inches and it's still coming down at about an inch per hour. Radar is indicating the lake effect snow is starting to make a slow shift towards the south. Tack on the blowing/drifting snow and forget about the roads. The plows just can't keep up.

NWS has put Lake County under a Winter Storm Warning until tomorrow morning. Previous to this most current Winter Storm Warning my county has only been under a Snow Advisory. Pretty impressive seeing as though there is close to a foot of new snow here now and it's still coming via lake effect. To be fair, I think my town is "localized" even within Lake County and most of the area hasn't seen quite this much. I'll know tomorrow when I venture a little further from home. Also, since this lake effect snow is not technically part of the winter storm system which came through earlier, I think the NWS was correct in not issuing a Winter Storm Warning for my county (Lake County was the first county north of the winter storm warning).

As the system moves further away, the winds will take a more northerly direction shifting the lake effect snow into the southern suburbs of Chicago and into Northwest Indiana where they could see another 6 inches of new snow tomorrow. Talk about adding insult to injury (or for us enthusiasts, adding more fun to fun).

The Winter Storm Warning for Lake County, Illinois is in effect for another 11 hours but I don't expect the snow to last quite that long. Maybe half that long if we're lucky. Blowing/drifting snow is a whole nother’ story.

*EDIT: Upon finishing this post, the snow has drastically reduced to maybe ¼ inch per hour. Looks like another band will enter Lake County soon but the lake effect is shifting south quite quickly now.

 

[Andrew Pritchard]

Uploaded a video of the snow earlier today, around noon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVy5mCDPYf0

Since the video was shot, the snow totals have about doubled to about 15 inches here. Hard to say the exact totals with the drifts, some of which are up to my waist and chest.

FWIW, the Illini basketball player who was in critical condition has been upgraded to serious condition. He suffered a severe concussion when their car lost control on the snowy road and hit a tree.

 

[Danny Neal]

Well we have received about 9.5 inches of snow here with it still coming down rather heavy. As mentioned before WSWarn is extended until 9 AM. Drifts are well over a foot and a half I have taken pictures and I will upload them into my blog a little later on.

 

[Andrew Herron]

Well, clipped was an understatement. The system decided to stay far enough south that we only got at most 4" with drifts up to 6". With the way all the schools in the area closed you'd think we got hit a foot.

 

[Danny Neal]

WELL ITS STILL SNOWING!!!!! Grrr! Added on another inch since this morning. I would say I am hovering around a foot. I just got in from shovelling since 630 am. Only to see a thin layer coating my beautiful beautiful work! I forgot my camera at my grandmas house soooo I guess pics will come later.

 

[Robert Dewey]

Well, clipped was an understatement. The system decided to stay far enough south that we only got at most 4" with drifts up to 6". With the way all the schools in the area closed you'd think we got hit a foot.

Yeah, I reported 5 inches (in Rochester) to the NWS. It's really hard to tell with the drifting -- our neighbor has 3 foot drifts, and I seen a few people stuck on secondary roads last night as their cars couldn't get through the drifts.

It looks like northern Ohio really got nailed... Majority of reports are +10 inches, with numerous +18 inch amounts, and several +20 inch amounts. I'd bet some of these were due to lake enhancement, but I would bet at least 75% of the snow was produced by the system.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=dtx&product=PNS&issuedby=CLE&format=ci&version=1

 

[Chris Hayes]

Snow has ended in Canton. Approximately 8-10 inches on the ground. Drifts are up to 2 feet deep. Edit: had it not been for the quarter inch of sleet, and dry slot that moved into the area, we would have well over a foot on the ground. NWS was forecasting 8-16 inches for the storm, so they were right on