Snow and ice-covered roads made for dangerous travel conditions for early morning commuters Wednesday.
After a day that saw plenty of snow and some sleet in the Chicago area, things continued to be treacherous for motorists in the overnight hours.
As of early Wednesday, every Chicago-area county reported partly- to mostly-covered roadways, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
In McHenry County, there were reports of roads completely covered in snow and ice.
For Cook, DeKalb, Grundy, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake and LaSalle counties the orads were mostly covered and for DuPage, Kane and Will, partly-covered conditions were reported.
No major accidents, but several minor ones were reported across the area by 5:30 a.m.
The Illinois Tollway offered the following winter driving tips for those who do need to go out:
Local
Winter Weather Travel Tips
The Illinois Tollway offers the following travel tips to keep safe during dangerously cold weather:
- Be sure your cell phone is fully charged before heading out.
- Be sure tires are properly inflated during cold weather. Tires lose a pound of pressure for every 10 degrees the temperature drops.
- Keep your gas tank at least half full to avoid gas line freeze-up and ensure that you have extra to account for additional driving time if the weather is unfavorable.
- Keep a cold weather safety kit in your car that includes gloves, boots, blankets, road flares, water and a flashlight with fresh batteries.
- Stranded motorists should turn on their emergency lights and remain in their vehicles until help arrives.
- Cell phone users should call *999 motorist assistance for roadway assistance and note the roadway and direction of travel and nearest milepost or crossroad.
According to current forecast models, icy conditions are expected throughout the overnight, with temperatures near or below the freezing mark for most of the night and the early morning.
Secondary roads are expected to remain icy, and morning commutes could be challenging on area roadways.
Later Wednesday morning, another burst of snow is possible, and that could last through the noon hour in Chicago. Other areas where the temperatures are warmer can expect to see rain as the system makes its way out of the region, with dry conditions expected by the time the afternoon rolls around.
Those dry conditions are expected to last through Thursday, but things will start to change by the time Friday rolls around. An icy mix of precipitation is expected when that next weather system arrives, and it will eventually change to rain in the afternoon.
Snow showers are also possible on Saturday before a warming trend takes hold next week, according to current forecast models.
