A pedestrian in Berrien Springs, in western MI, walks during the first significant snowfall of the season.
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Snow before Thanksgiving is not uncommon in the Midwest, Terry said, but Saturday’s early snow levels are noteworthy: Southeastern South Dakota got 18 inches overnight, while parts of Iowa and IL woke up to more than a foot. It caused hazardous travel conditions in parts of the Midwest and causing hundreds of flight cancellations.
Much colder air is forecast to spill across the Midwest behind the storm. The National Weather Service said the snow would continue in IL and in on Saturday and move into MI.
Police closed I-75 at Miami Street as a crash involving a tractor-trailer blocked the interstate at the DiSalle Bridge. Toledo police closed entrance ramps to the interstate from Alexis and Ottawa River roads about 10:30 p.m. Marengo, about 65 miles northwest of the city, recorded a foot of snow, according to weather service meteorologist Bruce Sullivan.
Daron Jones, University of Wisconsin’s associate director of events and operations, trudges through the snowy stands before the Badgers’ football game against Northwestern.
Southside True Value Hardware manager Matt Krienke said business had been good in the days leading up to the storm, but that it had become “very, very, very, very slick”.
“Most people aren’t even fazed by it”, she said.
Roads were slushy due to a rain and snow mix around the Chicago area, and a few snow totals topped the initial forecast of six to 10 inches.
It’s not common for the Chicago area’s first snowfall of the season to dump more than six inches, Seeley said.
Harvey Wollman, of Sioux Falls, uses a snow blower to clear the sidewalk near his house during the first snow of the season Friday, November 20, 2015, in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Northern IN city of LaPorte had about 4 inches on the ground by noon Saturday.
Alizha Demunck, a clerk at the city’s Little Chocolates store, said, “Northern IN, we’re used to snow”.
Cities across Northern IL prepped snow-removal trucks and reminded drivers to give plows plenty of room as the storm approached Friday night. Their average date of the season’s first 1 inch-plus snow is December 7.
The front will head northeast to Canada late on Saturday and into Sunday. Sioux Falls, South Dakota was a chilly 11 degrees early Saturday morning and Estherville in northern Iowa was 6 degrees with a wind chill of minus 4 degrees, the weather service said.
Surface low pressure is expected to strengthen a bit once it reaches the Great Lakes, thanks to the intensifying jet stream disturbance.
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Temperatures today are expected to rise to about 45 degrees before falling to near-freezing tonight.
