Sleet, snow falling across the Chicago area

Heavy rain has turned to snow as predicted by meteorologists from the National Weather Service.

But, before the inches of snow began to blanket the Chicago area, the rain and dropping temperatures caused black ice to appear on roadways, causing rescue officials to urge people in northern Lake and McHenry counties to use caution when heading out Tuesday morning.

Most areas are expected to receive between 1 inch to 3 inches of snowfall. But, people living closer to the Wisconsin border in northern Lake and McHenry counties are expected to get between 3 inches and 6 inches by the time the snow ends about midnight.

Winds are also expected to increase as the day goes on, gusting up to 30 m.p.h. by late afternoon in the area.

Central School, Harvard High School, Harvard Junior High School, Jefferson School and Washington School are all closed today in Harvard, while Glenwood Elementary School in Waukegan also has been shut down.

Community Unit District 300 also canceled all after-school activities for Tuesday, including sporting events and practices.

The district stretches from Carpentersville to Hampshire and includes Dundee-Crown, Jacobs and Hampshire high schools.

Among the activities canceled Tuesday were afternoon kindergarten and afternoon preschool. District 300 buses took students home in the afternoon. Officials from local districts said the decision whether to open Wednesday would be made early Wednesday morning.

After-school activities also were called off at Kaneland Middle School and Kaneland High School. The Holiday Music Concert was postponed until Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m.