A winter storm that crossed South Central Illinois officially left four inches of snow on the ground in Salem and 3.3 inches in Centralia.
As temperatures dropped below freezing by early afternoon, police departments were inundated with accident reports and vehicles sliding off the road.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Department alone handled 17 accidents and motor assist calls with vehicles in the ditch starting Friday afternoon and continuing through the night time hours. The sheriff’s department responded to one additional vehicle running into a ditch on Saturday morning.
As of early afternoon, most major highways that have been treated were back to near normal driving conditions. However, secondary roads in the city and county and township roads in the rural areas of Marion County were all still reported as slick and hazardous. Those traveling are being urged to use caution.
The snow should mostly be gone by Sunday afternoon, with temperatures expected to rise to around 47 degrees.
The snowfall is the heaviest so far this winter.
The Salem Water Plant reported the four inches of snow melted down to 46-hundredths of an inch of water, while the 3.3 inches in Centralia melted down to four-tenths of an inch.
Check the latest conditions statewide on IDOT-maintained roads here
The dogs play in the snow at the Barking Lot in Centralia.
