Hunting Numbers Are Out

The number of deer area hunters brought down during the firearm season is down for the most part.

Over 11 hundred deer were shot down in La Salle County this firearm season, more than two thousand less than last year.  In Bureau County, almost 13 hundred deer were shot and killed compared to over 16 hundred last year.

In Putnam County, hunters took down 558 deer this year, compared to 536 last year.  Grundy County hunters mowed down 402 deer this year, down from 408 last year.

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Bitterly Cold Day

Waking up will be even harder to do today.

The National Weather Service has a Wind Chill Advisory in effect for the entire listening area until noon.  Wind chills are in the area of 20 to 25 degrees below zero this morning.

If precautions aren’t taken, you could get frost bite or hypothermia.

Storm Makes Driving Tough

Some drivers can be forgiven if they’re hesitant to get back on the road today.

The most unlucky drivers found themselves stuck on Interstate 39 yesterday afternoon after separate accidents involving semis bogged down traffic.  The accidents were north of the I-80 intersection and traffic was being rerouted to Route’s 251 and 52.  There were plenty of cars in ditches on those roads too.

At one point, Plank Road in Peru was also closed to traffic yesterday.  Many areas reported little to no visibility at various points of the day.  Roads running north and south were particularly bad.

For the latest road condition reports:

http://wrc.gettingaroundillinois.com/winterroadconditions/

Wind Blows Through Illinois Valley

For the Illinois Valley, the wind has packed a bigger punch with this week’s storm than snow.

According to the National Weather Service, the Peru Municipal Airport yesterday recorded a top wind gust of 49 miles per hour.  Airports in Pontiac and Kankakee had the highest wind gusts of regional airports in the Chicago area at 51 miles per hour.

The gusty wind has helped wind chills reach 20 below zero in some spots.