Motorists had a snowy commute on Monday morning in the Union County area. Snow which was falling early in the morning covered area streets, roads and highways. The accompanying picture was taken shortly after 8 a.m. Monday at the intersection of South Main and Davie streets in downtown Anna.

Snow, sleet, ice, bitter cold chill Union County

Temperature drops from 60s to 20s in less than 24 hours

On Thursday, Jan. 11, the high temperatures was 64 degrees in Union County.

Less than 24 hours later, the county was under a covering of sleet and snow and the high temperature had dropped into the 20s.

Another round of wintry weather arrived Sunday evening and Monday morning. The area received 3 inches of snow. 

Monday’s snow was followed by bitter cold weather and arctic wind chill readings.

The National Weather Service office in Paducah on Monday issued a wind chill advisory.

The advisory was in effect from midnight until 11 a.m. Tuesday. The advisory covered Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri and Western Kentucky.

The weather service advised that wind chills during the period expected to range from zero to 15 degrees below zero. 

The high temperature on Tuesday was forecast to be around 13 degrees, followed by a low of around 4. The high was expected to reach around 23 on Wednesday.

Much milder temperatures are in the forecast for the period from Thursday, today, through Sunday. 

A high of 34 is expected today. The forecast calls for a high of around 56 by Sunday.

The Union County area received about an inch of ice, ice pellets (sleet) and snow on Jan. 11-12. 

High temperatures during the period of Jan. 12-15 were in the 20s. Lows were in the teens. (On Tuesday morning, Jan. 16, the low was 3 degrees in Jonesboro.)

In response to the first round of  bad weather, Union County Highway Department crews went to work at around midnight Thursday. Crews continued working through the night and into Friday.

Six highway department vehicles were being utilized to work on county roads.

Union County engineer Kevin Grammer said Friday morning that all county roads were covered with sleet and snow.

Union County Sheriff Scott Harvel said that as of mid-morning Friday, one minor traffic accident had been reported.

Harvel noted that conditions appeared to be worsening by about 10 a.m. Friday as the result of bitter cold temperatures which accompanied the frozen precipitation.

Due to the bad weather, the Union County Courthouse in Jonesboro closed at 11 a.m. Friday.

County schools were not in session Friday, and again on Tuesday, due to the bad weather. Schools were not in session on Monday, Jan. 15, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Union County was under a winter storm warning until 3 p.m. last Friday. The warning, issued by the National Weather Service office in Paducah, covered much of Southern Illinois and part of Southeast Missouri. The warning was issued Thursday afternoon, Jan. 11.

The passage of an arctic cold front brought sleet, freezing rain and snow to the area starting Thursday night and continuing into Friday.

Strong north wind made conditions feel much colder on Friday morning. 

The Gazette-Democrat

112 Lafayette St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
Office Number: (618) 833-2158
Email: news@annanews.com

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