Forecasters: Sauk Valley ‘ice event’ could mark the start to 2021

Another wave of winter weather could sweep over the Sauk Valley just after midnight Friday, according to forecasters, launching the region into 2021 alongside a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain.

Meteorologists with the National Weather Service’s Quad Cities and Chicago locations expect snow to begin falling around midnight Friday, with a transition to freezing rain before 7 a.m. Once the sun rises, they predict, frozen rain could continue to fall across the area.

Although the “overall impacts associated with this system are lower than previously expected,” NWS forecasters still anticipate “an ice event for the area” featuring more ice than snow, based on modeling generated Wednesday afternoon.

“Widespread snowfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches seem most likely along and northwest of a line from Keokuk to Sterling,” the NWS reported. “Ice accumulations will be a concern along and south of Interstate 80 and especially over southeast Iowa, northeast Missouri, and west central Illinois.”

As of Wednesday evening, meteorologists have not issued a winter storm watch or warning for any parts of the Sauk Valley.

If current modeling holds, weather officials might issue a winter weather advisory Thursday, they said.

Nonetheless, any frozen precipitation has the potential to create dangerous travel conditions on local roads and to affect utility services.

That was the case Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, after an aggressive winter storm muscled its way through the Sauk Valley, leaving behind a spread of wet, heavy snow and a sheet of slick ice responsible for hazardous roads and isolated power outages.

According to the NWS Quad Cities’ location, the “potent winter storm” produced a band of heavy snow, totaling 8 to 12 inches, and freezing rain and sleet in the region stretching from Interstate 80 to U.S. Highway 20.

State highways, including stretches of Interstate 88 and Interstate 39 that run through Whiteside, Lee and Ogle counties, were “mostly covered” with snow and ice early Wednesday morning, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

County sheriffs on social media said that travel on local and county roads was precarious, warning motorists to use caution on their commutes.

But by Wednesday afternoon, most roadways were cleared of snow and ice, according to IDOT and county officials.

As of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, 55 separate outages were responsible for 603 customers without power across Lee, Ogle and Whiteside counties, according to ComEd.

Later in the day, at 4:30 p.m., ComEd was reporting that 149 residents across Lee and Ogle counties were still without power because of seven separate outages.