Whiteout Wipeout in Lake County

You know it's a bad snowstorm when Lake County's two largest malls close early.

Westfield Hawthorn in Vernon Hills and Gurnee Mills joined the usual suspects -- government offices and schools -- on the weather closure list.

Anyone who decided to brave the elements to reach Hawthorn in search of a Sharper Image gizmo or clothes at Banana Republic was out of luck after 2 p.m.

Hawthorn spokeswoman Nicole Kneeland-Woods said it's rare for a Westfield property to close hours ahead of time because of poor weather. She said it's been at least five years since Hawthorn closed prematurely.

"We actually have had a lot of people calling the center," Kneeland-Woods said.

The National Weather Service reported that the storm dumped 11.7 inches of snow in and around Mundelein and 9.7 inches in Gurnee, making the county one of the hardest-hit areas of Wednesday's winter storm.

A snowstorm of this magnitude is a relatively rare event, happening about once every two or three years, National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Merzlock said.

"It's a relatively rare event even though it seems like you're always shoveling," he said.

Merzlock -- who has been working in the weather service's Chicago office for 25 years -- said the last snowstorm of this intensity to hit the area as far as he remembers was about eight or nine years ago.

Schools across the county were closed for the day, and many businesses sent employees home early as conditions worsened. Once on the road, commuters found the going slow and treacherous as high winds created blizzard-like conditions for much of the day.

Elsewhere across Lake County:

• Ash Wednesday crowds were down at Transfiguration Parish in Wauconda. Business manager Don Gragnani said the 9 a.m. Mass that typically attracts about 175 visitors was down to no more than 100 because of the bad weather. Gragnani said Transfiguration's pastor, the Rev. Ron Gollatz, endured the elements to bring ashes to residents in a Wauconda nursing home.

• Students and teachers at Lincolnshire's Stevenson High School started Wednesday in classes, but administrators sent everyone home early. A 1 p.m. release was scheduled, rather than the regular 3:25 p.m. final bell. Activities were canceled, too. Provided nothing crazy happens weatherwise today, Stevenson's doors will be open. "Students should assume we will have school unless told otherwise," Stevenson spokesman Jim Conrey said.

• Lake Zurich authorities said all was relatively quiet Wednesday, with no major vehicle crashes or water main breaks to report. Village crews worked constantly to keep pace with roughly 2 inches of snowfall per hour, said Mike Brown, public works superintendent. "It's basically the worst conditions you can have right now," Brown said. "It is impossible to keep up. We've had numerous breakdowns trying to keep up with it. It is wet, heavy snow. It is the worst snow you can get."

• Vernon Hills Public Works Superintendent Ed Laudenslager touched on the difficulties his employees had in trying to make village streets safe for drivers. "There is a lot of moisture in the snow making it hard to push and move. Coupled with the winds picking up, it will be a difficult (time). We really appreciated all of the schools making the good decision to cancel school today; that has significantly reduced traffic in the village. Otherwise, our staff is doing a great job keeping up with plowing."

• Lake County government offices in Waukegan and Libertyville shut early at 3 p.m. Employees deemed essential for Lake County circuit court operations remained on duty.

• Daily Herald staff writers Amie Shak, Madhu Krishnamurthy, Lee Filas, Russell Lissau, Mick Zawislak, Georgia Garvey and Corrinne Hess contributed to this report.