Snow Blog: Police Chief Reports Several Accidents Around Town

3:40 p.m.

A spokesperson for the Illinois Tollway said they deployed all 183 of its plow trucks to combat snow on its 286 miles of roadway.

“The evening rush hour was a challenge for drivers as the ongoing snowfall and slow travel conditions put our fleet of snowplows in heavy traffic along with commuters,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur. “We thank our customers for their patience and remind them to travel with caution tonight as we continue to battle falling snow.” 

Since the snowfall began this morning, the Tollway has helped 159 motorists in need of assistance, providing services such as changing tires, charging car batteries, dispensing fuel, calling for tows and transporting customers.

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5:15 p.m.

Annette Gioiosa, owner of , reports that the streets in downtown Lemont have yet to be plowed. Public Works crews are plowing major streets, but are struggling to keep up with the high rate of snowfall.

Most downtown businesses have closed, she said. Sweetwater, which normally closes at 8 p.m., is closing early so employees can drive home safely.

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4 p.m.

Lemont Public Works Director Ralph Pukula said his crew is working as fast as possible to remove snow. All of their trucks and employees have been out since this morning, he said.

"It's bad timing with rush hour," he said. "The trucks can't move any faster than traffic."

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3:40 p.m.

A spokesperson for the Illinois Tollway said they have deployed all 183 of its plow trucks to combat snow on its 286 miles of roadway.

"Our snowplows have been out salting and plowing our roadways since this morning, but there are areas along our system that have begun to collect snow," said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur. "Our full fleet will continue to work throughout the evening, but we're expecting a challenging Friday night rush hour as a result of this snowfall.  We're asking our customers to drive carefully and give our snowplows plenty of room to do their work."

According to the release, the Tollway has helped 28 motorists in need of assistance as of 3 p.m.

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3:25 p.m.

The National Weather Service

Snowfall totals are expected to reach 4 to 7 inches, with locally higher amounts possible.

According to the alert, snow will fall at a rate of 1 inch per hour, resulting in reduced visibilities.

"Very cold temperatures in the teens will make salt less effective and combine with heavy snowfall rates to make it harder for road crews to keep roads clear of snow and ice," the alert said.

For up-to-date road conditions, visit our Mapquest traffic map.

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3:15 p.m.

Patch readers are reporting multiple accidents on State Street just north of Illinois Street.

Lemont Public Works Director Ralph Pukula said residents should stay home if possible.

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3 p.m.

According to the Mapquest traffic map on Lemont Patch, an accident on Archer Avenue near Bell Road is causing some delays.

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2:45 p.m.

While Lemont Patch Editor Amanda Luevano is stranded in Romeoville due to the snow, readers are keeping us up to date on road conditions and accidents.

Here's what some readers are saying on our Faceboook page:

• Rebecca Saldana: Horrendous!! Stay off the roads, State st. had been plowed but it is still bad the side streets are much worse. Hope everyone stays stafe.

• Marie Markowski: Still coming down. Snowplows are doing their best on the main streets. Traffic seems to be doing okay going down Warner. You just have to take it slow and easy.

• Kevin Murphy: the roads are terrible. WHY DON'T THEY PLOW the side streets or even the Lemont Road bridge.

• Anna Lesnicki-Zawistowska: plows cannot keep up with the rate at which snow is falling, we all need to remember that and be careful driving, be smart

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2:45 p.m.

Lemont High School has canceled all after-school athletics and activities Friday. This includes all athletic contests—both home and away—as well as practices, meetings and any community-related events scheduled on campus.

The boys basketball games that were scheduled against Oak Forest were moved to Saturday, Jan. 28. The sophomore game will begin at 4 p.m. and the varsity game will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Other cancellations include:

• Detention
• National Honor Society meeting
• Speech Team practice
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing volleyball practice
• Freshman boys basketball practice
• All levels of girls basketball, boys swimming and poms
• Lemont Bears wrestling practice

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2:30 p.m.

Lemont Police Chief Kevin Shaughnessy said several accidents have been reported around town, specifically in the areas around State Street and Timberline. He did not know the severity of the incidents.

He urged residents to stay off the roads if possible. Motorists should slow down and increase driving time.

"I know the plows are out doing everything they can, but the snow is falling fast so it's dangerous out there," he said.

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2 p.m.

Lemont Patch reader Jill Risatti reported on our Faceboook page that cars were having a difficult time getting up the hill after the State Street bridge.

Shortly before 2 p.m., a car was stalled near the top of the hill, close to St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. The incident caused a small backup, she reports.

The vehicle has since been removed and cars are now moving. However, the road remains slick going down the hill, she said.

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1:10 p.m.

Lemont Public Works Director Ralph Pukula said all of the department's trucks have been out plowing streets throughout the village since this morning.

He reported "quite a bit of traffic" Friday afternoon.

"Slow and steady snow makes for a messy commute," he said.

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12:50 p.m.

has canceled all after-school activities and meetings at , and .

has yet to report any cancellations.

For information on school closings, visit the Emergency Closing Center website. 

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11 a.m.

The is closing at noon today due to the inclement weather.

For information on school closings, visit the Emergency Closing Center website. 

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Original post, 8 a.m. Friday

The morning commute Friday is expected to be clear.

But the drive home, according to the National Weather Service, will be a very different story.

Five to eight inches of snow is expected to fall around  through the day, starting midmorning and tapering off around midnight, the NWS reports. 

The storm will likely be at its worst in the late afternoon — just in time for Friday's rush hour. During that time, the NWS said snow could fall at a rate of one inch an hour. 

Because the snow will be falling amid frigid temperatures, salt won't be as effective at thawing the roads. Friday's high is expected to be 21 degrees.

Driving will be "treacherous" (the NWS's word) during the storm's peak and people are advised to stay off the roads unless it's an emergency.

The Illinois Tollway that it's mobilizing its entire fleet of 183 plows to combat the snow.

Stay tuned to Patch throughout the day for the latest storm news.

Keep an eye on the roads with our live traffic map.