Slick Roads Early, Round Two to Bring Long-Duration Snow Event

Yesterday's disturbance had a delayed start. But once light snow began to fall, road conditions across the area quickly deteriorated into Friday morning. As of 6AM this morning, Rockford came in with 1.1" of very fluffy/powdery snowfall. Although that doesn't sound like much, it was more than enough to make roads either slick and snow-covered ahead of this morning's commute. 

Remember, roads temperatures are extremely cold. This means that any salt or treatment that plow trucks displace on the roadways will be less effective. If you plan on traveling, give yourself a little more time for travel and take it slow. Another round of snow moves in late Friday, with accumulating snow looking more likely into the first half of the weekend.

As of this morning, round 2 is in it's developing stages as it slides off the Rocky Mountains. A glace at morning radar does show light to moderate snow becoming more widespread across portions of the central plains. Clearing behind last night's disturbance will lead to a little sunshine early on. But just as quick as the sun makes an appearance, cloud cover will be quick to fill in. 

Moisture will continue to stream into our area from the west by late Friday, with a few flurries developing by 5-6PM. While round 2 is expected to be a long duration event, steady snow will fall lightly. Light snow is set to continue into Friday night and well into the day on Saturday. With temperatures back down in the single-digits, slick roads are once again likely across the Stateline. If you have any plans to travel Saturday morning, or even into Saturday afternoon, use extra caution.

With this being a long duration event, accumulations will be very slow to pile up. Guidance shows snow tapering off by late Saturday afternoon, leaving behind 1"-3" of fluffy snow across the region. A few spots, more to the southeast, could see up between 2"-4". Due to the fact the snow is going to be fluffy in nature, it wont take much of a wind to blow some of this upcoming snow across roadways. Winds are expected to remain out of the north-northwest into the first half of our weekend, with gusts pushing 20 mph. So keep an eye out for slick spots caused by blowing and drifting snow Saturday. 

For Valentine's Day, love may be in the air, but so will the dangerous cold. Temperatures are expected to bottom out into Sunday morning thanks to clearing skies behind Saturday's snow-maker. Lows are expected to drop to near -10° Sunday morning, and will only climb into the low single-digits by the afternoon. When you factor in the wind, wind chills once again will fall well below-zero. A similar story that will likely continue into the start of the next week. Bundle up love-birds!