Law enforcement had two words for motorists tonight if in any way possible – stay home.
All the predictions set in the National Weather Service Advisory came true on Friday night as street and transportation workers were out in abundance when an ice storm hit the area during rush hour, leaving a glaze of ice on the roads and highways.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Viral Video courtesy of Dylan Sherer
Sgt. Booth of Illinois District 11 State Patrol in Collinsville said at 7:50 p.m. his office had 162 crashes pending.
“It’s everywhere,” he said of the crashes. “Bridges are frozen and cars are jack knifed and there is a large amount of roll overs. We have had a massive amount of accident calls.”
Booth said it would be “nice” if everyone would just stay home tonight and avoid the icy road conditions.
Officer Williams of the Edwardsville Police said there were accidents from one end of Edwardsville to the other with much of the issues happening over rush hour. He also joined the Illinois State Police officer and said motorists should stay home if they can tonight.
The National Weather Service has a Winter Weather Advisory into effect until 6 p.m. this evening for the St. Louis region.
The National Weather Service issued the advisory because of freezing drizzle.
"A light glazing of ice and Southeast at 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph are projected," the Service said. "The wintery precipitation will result in hazardous travel conditions, especially on bridges, overpasses and untreated roads. Parking lots and sidewalks will become slippery as well. The glazing of ice will be especially hazardous since it will be difficult to see exactly where the roads are."
"It only takes a small amount of wintry precipitation to make roads, bridges, sidewalks and parking lots icy and dangerous. It is often difficult to tell when ice begins to form, so do not be caught off guard."
Illinois State Police District 11 Afternoon Shift Commander Sgt. Jeff Snyder said motorists need to drive with care through the entire weekend.
“We may have the precipitation coming in waves with temperatures fluctuating above and below freezing on Saturday, so it will be touch and go,” he said. “We are supposed to be around 5 on Sunday with a wind chill.”
IDOT spokesperson Joe Monroe said what concerns his staff is the forecast keeps changing.
“There is a big difference to how you respond to snow or an ice event,” he said. “It concerns us we are in-between tomorrow. If it was a snow event we would love to be pre-treating right now (late Friday afternoon). This is our first winter storm in our area on a weekend. You can’t be too careful with ice. We will have a rather large response of trucks ready for the challenge and if the forecast matches what has been predicted we will be out in force tonight and tomorrow as needed.”
More like this:
