A powerful snowstorm lumbered into the Great Plains on Monday, turning roads to ice, cutting visibility and jeopardizing thousands of motorists’ travel plans. It was blamed for two deaths in Colorado.
Monday’s blizzard in The Plains was blamed for at least two deaths in a crash in Colorado. A guard and an inmate were killed when a prison van lost control on an icy highway five miles east of Limon, Colorado. Eight inmates and a prison employee were hospitalized with moderate to serious injuries.
Snow was falling at a rate of about 1.5 inches per hour. The heavy snow hit New Mexico, Kansas, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado.
So far the storm is missing Chicagoland to the south. No accumulation is expected with today’s forecast high of 40°F.
National Weather Service Forecast …
Today: A slight chance of snow and sleet before noon, then a chance of rain and snow between noon and 3pm, then a chance of rain after 3pm. Cloudy, with a high near 40. East wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Tonight: Areas of drizzle. Cloudy, with a low around 34. East northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of rain before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Calm wind becoming west northwest around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. West wind around 5 mph.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL
423 AM CST TUE DEC 20 2011
WINNEBAGO-BOONE-MCHENRY-LAKE ILLINOIS-OGLE-LEE-DE KALB-KANE-
DUPAGE-COOK-LA SALLE-KENDALL-GRUNDY-WILL-KANKAKEE-LIVINGSTON-
IROQUOIS-FORD-LAKE INDIANA-PORTER-NEWTON-JASPER-BENTON-
423 AM CST TUE DEC 20 2011 /523 AM EST TUE DEC 20 2011/
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS…
NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA.
.DAY ONE…TODAY AND TONIGHT.
A WINTRY MIX OF RAIN…SNOW AND SLEET WILL MOVE NORTHWARD TOWARD THE
INTERSTATE 80 CORRIDOR THIS MORNING THEN TRANSITION TO RAIN BY
EARLY AFTERNOON. A LIGHT SLUSHY ACCUMULATION IS POSSIBLE…MAINLY
ON GRASSY SURFACES…CLOSER TO THE INTERSTATE 80 CORRIDOR THIS
MORNING. TO THE NORTH…THERE WILL BE A LOW CHANCE FOR LIGHT SNOW
AND SLEET LATE THIS MORNING THEN A CHANCE FOR RAIN AND SNOW THIS
AFTERNOON. PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO BE ALL LIQUID BY LATE
AFTERNOON THOUGH A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE RIGHT
ALONG THE WISCONSIN BORDER.
PORTIONS OF THE KANKAKEE RIVER IN INDIANA WILL REMAIN IN FLOOD.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.
THERE IS SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SNOW TO MIX WITH RAIN ACROSS NORTH
CENTRAL ILLINOIS EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING.
PORTIONS OF THE KANKAKEE RIVER IN INDIANA WILL REMAIN IN FLOOD
EARLY THIS WEEK.
Become a fan of The Cardinal weather page. Submit your pictures or just stay up-to-date on weather topics — go direct to the Arlington Cardinal Weather photos. For a list of all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages, go to Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …