County residents dig out from storm
The worst is over – for this storm, anyway. Most schools are closed as residents continue to dig out almost 10 inches of snow in some towns.
"Generally, we're not looking for any additional accumulation," said meteorologist Mark Ratzer with the National Weather Service. "You might get a dusting, if that."
The National Weather Service's latest reports showed 9.6 inches in Woodstock, 7.8 inches in Cary and 6.1 inches in Crystal Lake.
The McHenry County Courthouse is open, but some other public buildings, such as the Algonquin Area Public Library, are closed for the day.
Many of Mercy Health System's clinics and programs are also closed, but the emergency department remains open in Harvard.
The storm also forced the cancellation of Algonquin's 2008 Winter Wonderland program, which was scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Algonquin Middle School.
About 8:15 a.m., Nunda Township Highway Commissioner Don Kopsell said his crews were on their third round of plowing and they would keep it up until the roads are bare.
"We even had to plow Route 31 there at Terra Cotta," he said. "That's state, but everybody was snarled up there so we went down there to open it up."
Kopsell said it appeared that there were less cars on the road as people made the decision to stay home for the day.
"It will work out," he said. "People have just got to take their time and use a little more caution."
But there was a silver lining to the snow storm clouds for McHenry County residents.
"Freezing rain has pretty much been south of Chicago," Marsili said. "You're more in the heavy snow area."
Sheriff's police are reminding drivers to take it slow on the morning commute and always be aware of the surroundings. Know your location, particularly in the more rural parts of the county, so that in case of emergency you will be able to tell dispatchers your exact location, they said.
More than 300 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport, and Midway International Airport had 24 canceled flights, Chicago aviation officials said.
Frozen tracks and power lines caused commuter train delays of up to an hour and some trains were canceled altogether, Metra officials said.
McHenry County had more than 77.8 inches of snow in the winter of 2007-08, beating the previous county record of 74.5 inches in 1978-79. Most of the winter snow fell in December and February.
One storm in early February dropped between 12 and 14 inches of snow on the northern Chicago suburbs, just a week after Woodstock’s prognosticating groundhog, Willie, predicted it would be an early spring.
This year, between 8.5 inches and a foot of snow has fallen in the county in December, not including the overnight storm. Fourteen inches had fallen by this time in 2007, according to National Weather Service data.
Another couple of inches of snow are possible Saturday, with a 40 percent chance of snow during the day Saturday and a 70 percent chance Saturday night, meteorologist Stephen Rodriguez said.