Area Snowfall Amounts

The so called “Blizzard of 2011” did dump plenty of snow locally.

According to the National Weather Service, 20 inches of snow fell in Mendota.  A weather observer reported 18 inches in Paw Paw with 13.5 inches in Marseilles and Princeton.   Hennepin received 12.5 inches while an even 12 inches fell in Earlville and 11.5 inches of snow fell in Peru.

A weather spotter in Morris measured 11.4 inches.

Man Dies After Being Found In The Snow

A Kernan man is dead after trying to walk home when his car got stranded last night.

The La Salle County Sheriff’s Office says 44-year old Andrew Berg was found several hundred feet from his car after being stranded on the Kernan Blacktop south of Route 18.  Officials say Berg  tried walking a mile to his home.  Friends and family went to look for him and found him in the snow.

Berg was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Streator where he was pronounced dead just before one this morning.

An autopsy is scheduled later this week.

Road Closure List

Plenty of state highways remain impassable and closed to traffic.

The closure list includes: Route 92 across Bureau County; Route 251 from Peru to Mendota; Route 71 from Cedar Point to Route 89; Route 178 south of Route 71; Route 92 from Yorktown to Mendota; Route 34 from LaMoille to Princeton; Route 6 west to Mineral; Route 26 from Dixon to Ohio; and Route 52 from Dixon to Mendota.

You can be arrested if you go around police barricades and drive on closed roads.

Power station unit in northern Illinois shuts down

MARSEILLES, Ill. (AP) – One unit of an electricity generating station in northern Illinois shut down Tuesday night when a main power transformer went offline.

Exelon Nuclear spokesman Adam Slahor says the unit is still down Wednesday morning.

The company is investigating what caused the problem, but it’s not thought to be related to a winter storm moving across Illinois.

The shutdown of LaSalle Generating Station Unit 1 in rural LaSalle County, about 75 miles southwest of Chicago, did not cause any power outages. Slahor says it just means there’s less electricity going to the power grid.

A second unit at the station is still running.

A main power transformer raises the voltage of electricity before it is sent to the electrical grid. Slahor says the plant responded as expected, safely and without incident.

Storm ranks 3rd in Chicago history; 19.5 inches

CHICAGO (AP) – The National Weather Service has ranked a winter storm moving across Illinois as the third-largest to hit Chicago since snow records began in 1886.

The blizzard accumulated 19.5 inches of snow at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport as of 9 a.m. on Wednesday. The weather service ranks that accumulation third behind 23 inches in 1967 and 21.6 inches in 1999.

Peru officials plan to start ticketing and towing Friday morning

Cars left buried under the snow on the streets of Peru will have until 8am Friday to be moved.

Peru Police Chief Doug Bernabei says they’re giving you until Friday morning to get your car moved off the road.  After that, you’ll be ticketed and the car will be tow at your expense.

They want the roads clear of cars so the snow plows can completely clear the streets.

Courthouses and other government offices closed

If you had a court appearance scheduled for Wednesday, you can bet it will need to be rescheduled.

Due to the blizzard, both La Salle County courthouses are closed today.  Cases will be rescheduled.  The same goes for Bureau County.

Most, if not all, government offices and libraries are closed Wednesday.

Interstates remained closed Wednesday morning

While you might be see Wednesday morning as a chance to sleep in, it was a busy night for area police officers and firefighters.  Efforts to find people stranded on roads has gone on all night.

All interstates within Illinois State Police District 17 have been closed since about nine last night.

State Police Sgt. Quillard Skinner says the blowing snow is causing zero visibility.  They’ve been working with Illinois National Guard members to bring people they find to safe zones like truck stops and motels.

Driving is hazardous.  They ask that you stay off the roads, giving plows a chance to clear the roads.