The Illinois Department of Transportation reports I-57, 64, and 70 through Southern Illinois are mostly to completely covered with snow as a major winter storm continues to push through the area.
Most other major roads are also at least partially snow packed. Drifting has become an issue in places, especially on east-west roads due to the strong north winds.
Marion County Highway Engineer Mike McCormick says they have seven trucks out with plows on the county highways. All are open, but he reports sometimes the snow is blowing quickly back across the roads. With the extreme cold, he is encouraging motorists not to try and punch through snowdrifts and risk getting stuck in the extreme cold temperatures.
Salem and Centralia city road crews are also out and all city streets are currently reported as snow-covered but passable. Both Salem and Centralia have their snow route ordinances in effect that ban parking on designated snow routes to allow for streets to be more easily cleared.
A winter storm warning remains in effect along with a wind chill advisory. We could see up to a foot of new snow on the ground by the time the system exits by late Monday night. The wind chill advisory warns that wind chills from the extreme cold and brisk winds could reach 20-below zero.
