Snow, freezing rain to create dangerous conditions in most of Sauk Valley by Tuesday night

A pair of storms are bringing several inches of snow, along with freezing rain, to the Sauk Valley this week, ending an already noteworthy year for weather events with a final wave of hazardous conditions.

The National Weather Service in Chicago, which covers Lee and Ogle counties, and the Quad Cities location, which handles Carroll and Whiteside counties, are forecasting heavy snow beginning Tuesday afternoon that will become freezing rain Wednesday morning. A second round of winter weather could move through the area Thursday, according to forecasters.

A winter storm watch is in effect until 9 a.m. Wednesday.

“Snow will become heavy at times through Tuesday night, especially along and north of a Fairfield, Iowa to Quad Cities, to Sterling, Illinois line,” the NWS reported. “At this time, it appears 3 to 8 inches of snow is likely to fall along and north of that line. South of that line, snow will change to a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain Tuesday evening and overnight.”

A map of the potential for ice-glaze shows Carroll and Whiteside counties at a “low” likelihood, while Lee county is at a “medium” likelihood.

Ogle County is expected to see total snow and sleet accumulations of 4 to 7 inches and ice accumulations of up to .2 of an inch, according to meteorologists.

Weather conditions will make roads slick, meaning travel could be “very difficult to impossible,” the NWS said.

Some power outages also are likely from “the combined effects of heavy, wet snow, some icing, and wind gusts up to 30 mph,” the NWS reported. “In addition, the heavy, wet nature of the snow may be difficult to shovel.”

NWS’ detailed forecast for the area shows a daytime high of 30 degrees Tuesday and low of 25 degrees Tuesday night.

Wednesday’s high of 36 will drop off to the mid-teens through Wednesday night and Thursday morning. A 50% chance of snow is predicted for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

“While our attention is placed on the Tue-Wed storm, there is yet another potential winter event forecast for Thursday PM through Friday AM,” meteorologists wrote in a forecast discussion on Monday. “We will begin highlighting that possible storm in the coming day, but with the notable day 2-3 storm, we will not be able to message that one directly yet.”