Driving dicey around McHenry County as snow accumulates; schools call off afternoon activities

Road conditions were snowy and slushy Wednesday as McHenry County weathered estimated snowfall of just under half a foot. The weather prompted a number of school districts to call off after-school activities and libraries to close their doors early.

By lunchtime Wednesday, according to some reports received by the National Weather Service in Romeoville, about 1 to 1½ inches of snow had already fallen.

A report the agency received early Wednesday afternoon from Bull Valley indicated 2 inches of snow had fallen there. One to 3 inches was the range of snow that had fallen before a lull during late Wednesday afternoon, weather service meteorologist Lee Carlaw said. At O’Hare International Airport, 1.4 inches of snow had fallen as of just after 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Carlaw said another inch or two of snow was expected to fall between 7 p.m. and midnight Wednesday. Light snow will continue to fall overnight, which could add up to another quarter inch to the total.

Zachary Yack, a weather service meteorologist, said at about 2 p.m. Wednesday there would be a lull coming in the next hour or two and would last until about 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday. Yack expected another inch of snow to fall before the lull and another 2 to 3 inches of snow to fall afterwards; the snow is expected to stop around 11 p.m. to midnight.

Cary School District 26 canceled after-school functions Wednesday, calling it on the district website a “proactive measure due to the expected weather this afternoon and evening.” Cary was among several districts in the county who called off afternoon plans Wednesday due to the weather. Several libraries also closed their doors early because of the weather Wednesday.

Crystal Lake District 47 had announced the previous day that Wednesday would be an early release day because of the weather. Harvard District 50, Alden-Hebron District 19 and McHenry District 156 also let out early, but the releases were pre-scheduled and not due to the weather.

Algonquin-based District 300 said middle school activities would be canceled and high school activity sponsors would be sending out status updates later in the day Wednesday.

With the prospect of several inches of snow on the ground by Thursday morning, several school districts in the area were able to sidestep the question of whether to cancel Thursday classes. A number of districts also had non-attendance days planned Thursday because of parent-teacher conferences.

Road conditions in McHenry County were listed as being mostly covered with ice or snow for much of the day Wednesday, according to gettingaroundillinois.com. Crystal Lake officials reported just before 1:45 p.m. Wednesday that a crash on Route 176 west of Walkup Road was causing significant delays, but the scene had been cleared by 3 p.m.

McHenry County emergency management officials said nothing came by that they needed to respond to.

And the wintry weather isn’t over yet. The county is expected to get another band of snow Friday, with ranges of 1 to 4 inches possible in the area coming during the afternoon and evening hours Friday, Carlaw said. There’s also the potential for lingering snow overnight Friday into Saturday.