Full Notification

A BLIZZARD WARNING remains in effect for North Aurora and the entire Northern Illinois area.

Most roads are impassable. Please Stay home & off the roads until further notice so that snow plows & emergency vehicles can do their jobs easier.

There are snow drifts as high as four feet and some roads have not yet been plowed.

The NAPD will update you as additional information becomes available.

Text of Blizzard Warning follows:

Issued by The National Weather Service
Chicago, IL
4:31 am CST, Wed., Feb. 2, 2011

... BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON... ... WIND CHILL WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A WIND CHILL WATCH... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING. A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON.

* TIMING... HEAVY SNOW WILL CONTINUE EARLY THIS MORNING OVER NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND FAR NORTHWEST INDIANA. THE HEAVY SNOWFALL WILL GRADUALLY SHIFT INTO NORTHWEST INDIANA BY LATE MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON. ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL SHOULD END OVER NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS EARLY THIS MORNING AND OVER NORTHEAST ILLINOIS BY MID TO LATE MORNING. ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL WILL END OVER NORTHWEST INDIANA BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WILL GRADUALLY EASE AS WINDS SLOWLY SUBSIDE THIS MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON.

* ACCUMULATIONS... ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS THIS MORNING OF 2 TO 5 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED OVER THE CHICAGO METROPOLITAN AREA... AND OVER NORTHWEST INDIANA THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. ELSEWHERE ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS SHOULD BE LESS THAN TWO INCHES. STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE IN THE 12 TO 18 INCH RANGE OVER NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS... INCLUDING ROCKFORD AND VICINITY. STORM TOTALS OVER THE CHICAGO METROPOLITAN AREA SHOULD END UP IN THE 15 TO 24 INCH RANGE... WITH TOTALS FROM NORTHWEST INDIANA SOUTHWEST INTO EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS IN THE 8 TO 14 INCH RANGE. THE SEVERE BLOWING AND DRIFTING HAS RESULTED IN SNOW DRIFTS OF OVER 5 FEET IN AREAS.

* WINDS... NORTHEAST WINDS FROM 20 TO 30 MPH... WITH WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH ARE LIKELY AWAY FROM THE LAKE THIS MORNING BEFORE SUBSIDING THIS AFTERNOON TO 10 TO 20 MPH. NEAR THE LAKE MORE FEROCIOUS WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 50 MPH ARE LIKELY THIS MORNING BEFORE SUBSIDING TO 15 TO 25 MPH THIS AFTERNOON.

* BLIZZARD CONDITIONS... FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH THE INTENSE WINDS WILL RESULT IN WHITE OUT CONDITIONS OVER NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA THIS MORNING. OVER NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS... FALLING SNOW HAS SUBSIDED HOWEVER THE STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO RESULT IN GROUND BLIZZARD CONDITIONS THIS MORNING WITH ZERO VISIBILITY IN OPEN AREAS.

* TRAVEL... LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORT THAT NEARLY EVERY ROADWAY IS IMPASSABLE AND IN MANY CASES CLOSED. A STATE OF EMERGENCY HAS BEEN DECLARED AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS ARE PLEADING FOR PEOPLE TO STAY HOME AND OFF ROADWAYS. THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS REPORTS OF CARS OFF ROADWAYS AND PEOPLE STRANDED AND THE EXTREME CONDITIONS ARE MAKING IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR RESCUE PERSONAL TO REACH THE STRANDED. VISIBILITIES ARE SO POOR IN OPEN AREAS THAT MOTORISTS COULD BECOME DISORIENTED AND UNABLE TO EVEN SEE BEYOND THE HOOD OF THEIR CARS. BEFORE CONSIDERING GETTING ON THE ROADS THIS MORNING... ASK YOURSELF IF GETTING TO YOUR DESTINATION IS WORTH RISKING YOUR LIFE. CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY SLOWLY IMPROVE LATER THIS MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON AS WINDS SUBSIDE AND SNOW ENDS... BUT UNTIL THEN... DO NOT TRAVEL!

* POWER OUTAGES... STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO RESULT IN NUMEROUS POWER OUTAGES. IN ADDITION... THE ADVERSE CONDITIONS COULD MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO RESTORE POWER.

* OTHER IMPACTS... THE DEEP SNOW ACCUMULATION WILL MAKE SHOVELING VERY DIFFICULT... AND POTENTIALLY DEADLY. DURING AND IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE BLIZZARD OF 1999 OVER 40 PEOPLE IN THE CHICAGO AREA ALONE LOST THEIR LIVES TO HEART ATTACKS WHILE SHOVELING THE HEAVY SNOWFALL. TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS INDOORS AND DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE TASK AT HAND WHEN SHOVELING.

* WIND CHILLS... STRONG WINDS AND COLD TEMPERATURES ARE RESULTING IN VERY COLD CONDITIONS TODAY WITH WIND CHILLS NEAR ZERO. HOWEVER TONIGHT... BITTERLY COLD TEMPERATURES ARE LIKELY WITH TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM 5 BELOW DOWNTOWN TO 20 BELOW IN THE COLDEST OUTLYING AREAS. THE WINDS WILL SUBSIDE TONIGHT... BUT STILL STRONG ENOUGH TO PRODUCE WIND CHILLS OF 20 TO 40 BELOW ZERO.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT CONDITIONS... MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL! IF YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST TRAVEL... HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED... STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

A WIND CHILL WATCH MEANS THE THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A COMBINATION OF VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS TO CREATE DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILL VALUES. MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS AND WARNINGS FOR UPDATES ON THIS SITUATION.

More Information
... CRIPPLING AND POTENTIALLY KILLER BLIZZARD TO CONTINUE THIS MORNING...