Mother Nature is known for throwing a curveball or two, and this year is certainly no different.

While many people were trying to clean their properties of fallen leaves, snow began to fall, and the region was hit with a pair of November snowstorms.

As a result, leaves raked into Kankakee streets were not scooped up by public works crews or, in some cases, were never raked out of residential yards.

Zach Newton, superintendent of Kankakee’s Environmental Service Utilities, which oversees the Public Works Department, said leaf pickup that was scheduled to conclude Dec. 2 will be extended by a couple of weeks.

“We will get what we can while we can,” Newton said before the start of Monday’s Kankakee City Council meeting.

The problem with uncollected leaves is they can block storm sewer drainage, meaning melting snow or rainwater cannot make it to the Kankakee River, and streets become flooded.