While winter has not officially begun, the shovels and snow blowers were out from South Dakota through southern Minnesota, Iowa and southern Wisconsin to northern IL and Indiana. The weather service said it started as rain and snow early Friday night, but should turn into wet snow through this afternoon.
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Already, southern South Dakota saw significant snowfall and poor traveling conditions on Friday morning, with a foot or more of snow expected by the time it tapers off.
The first significant storm of the season was blanketing parts of the Midwest with a foot or more of snow, creating hazardous conditions as a few travelers prepared to depart for the Thanksgiving holiday.
National Weather Service meteorologist Bruce Sullivan says that Marengo, IL got 12 inches overnight and snow was still falling.
The IL Department of Transportation is reporting snow and ice covering roads in northwestern IL as the season’s first winter storm rolls in.
Skow says temperatures will drop Friday into the teens and twenties, and it will linger into Saturday.
Utility company ComEd says it is increasing staffing to make sure crews are ready to respond to power outages.
“It acted as a barrier so all of this moisture coming up from the south stayed right along that cold front and came down in the form of snow”, Schreck said.
Snow in November is common in the region, but more than 6 inches is somewhat unusual. Snowfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches are likely in those areas.
Bridger Wagner, 3, plays in the snow in front of his house during the first snow of the season Friday, November 20, 2015, in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Heavy weekend snow is also in the forecast for parts of Wisconsin, MI and IL. Semitrailer trucks pulled off slow-moving Interstate 90 to park for the day, said Bret Brown, a cashier at a Roadway Express truck stop in Sioux Falls. New totals were not yet available for the Chicago area although south of the city only an inch fell, while O’Hare airport had 4 inches by midnight Friday.
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Morning commuters in southern South Dakota dealt with slick roads, accidents and backed-up traffic as a snowstorm began developing over parts of the Midwest. A wide band of moderate to heavy snow is expected north of the low from northern IL to central MI.
