Tri-Cities residents handle first snow of season in stride
It was mushy and slushy, but Tri-Cities motorists seemed to handle the first snowfall of the season like old pros.
In all, about 4 inches had accumulated across parts of Kane County by early afternoon Monday, with the National Weather Service predicting a break in the action until Wednesday.
Police reported no major accidents as a result of the weather but reminded drivers nonetheless to take it easy on the roads and be cautious of black ice and snow drifts.
"Anytime we have frozen or snow-covered roadways, we would hope people will slow down, plan ahead and drive defensively," Kane County Sheriff's Lt. Pat Gengler said.
In Campton Hills, Police Chief Greg Anderson said it was "remarkably quiet" considering road conditions west of Randall Road. His office had handled only one minor accident as opposed to several, which is common for the first snowfall, Anderson said.
"Usually, it's the other way around because people have forgotten how to drive on the snow and ice," he said. "We're lucky, I guess."
Batavia and Geneva city administrators both said they hadn't heard of any problems with traffic or snow removal, though the snow prompted Batavia to temporarily suspend its final leaf collection on the city's west side.
"I would probably only hear if there were all sorts of problems," said Batavia administrator Bill McGrath at 1 p.m. "If I haven't heard anything, then all is well."
Like many other communities, Batavia and Geneva were both keeping an eye on their road salt supplies in hopes of conserving this season.
Charles Mott, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Romeoville, said accumulation reports Monday varied from 3.6 to 4.3 inches of snowfall in Elgin and Elburn, respectively.
He said the snow was expected to taper off Monday afternoon or evening, but with a little more on the way Wednesday. Temperatures were expected to remain in the mid to high 20s before reaching into the 30s over the weekend.
Daily Herald staff writers James Fuller and Susan Sarkauskas contributed to this story.
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