Jennifer Roscoe

There might be some tears, lots of laughs, and definitely some interesting stories after 34 years in TV, but you have to tune in to my Behind The Forecast interview with our very own @WCIA3Jennifer . We talk about the various weather she has covered over the years and get one last good long interview in. You can see it on the WCIA 3+ app.

Hail that @jacobdickeywx found 30 minutes after the storm moved through Kankakee was still the size of baseballs.

Real Talk: Q & A 10 questions 1. Will this be the biggest snow storm central Illinois has ever seen? No. While some areas may see a significant snow it won’t be the “biggest snow ever”. It may still be very impactful though especially where 10” of snow could fall. 2. Will I actually be able to travel? During the peak of the storm (Sunday afternoon/evening) I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it especially for areas I-74 and southward. To the north though towards Chicago won’t be as bad. Travel on Monday morning could still be tricky but snow plows will be working hard to clear roads. 3. Am I going to see much ice? Well for the vast majority of our viewing area this falls as snow. The exception will be closer to I-70 where sleet is likely during the onset of precipitation. While sleet is better than having freezing rain, sleet falling and then having snow fall on top of that can make for rather slick roads. So while an ice storm isn’t expected some areas will see that sleet cause slick roads if not treated properly. 4. Do I really need to stock up on bread and milk? Well I mean if you’re at the grocery store sure, pick up some essentials but there is no reason to hoard the shelves. The vast majority of you won’t be “snowed in” and will be able to navigate to the store within a day or two. Just be reasonable. 5. What about blowing and drifting of snow? Well this is a definite concern especially for rural areas. It’s very different out “in the country” compared to the “city”. With open fields and nothing to block the wind drifts occur much easier out there. Winds will be gusty through Sunday evening so for areas that do pickup a decent snow drifts could cause issues. They are also hard to see at night on rural roads so be careful. 6. What about church Sunday morning? Well the earlier the service the better. Things will really start to ramp up after 9am. Areas north of I-74 will be better off than those closer to I-70. If your service gets out at noon, expect the snow to be flying and accumulation to have already occurred. 7. Will there be school on Monday or will my work close? A good rule of thumb around here is a snow over 3” has a good chance to close more rural schools, in the bigger cities 4”-5” or more sometimes is what it takes. As far as your work? While some businesses may close many will stay open for the exception in an area that may see 6”+ of snow. You start getting into the 6”-10” range and that can impact employees even getting to work. But to each is own. 8. What about power outages? Again while a major ice storm isn’t expected here, because of the wind and obviously sometimes the added weight of snow all it takes is that one tree branch to fall on the right line to take out power. I don’t foresee this being widespread but isolated outages can occur in any winter storm where wind is a factor. 9. Is there still time for things to shift and change or could you all be wrong about the forecast and nothing happen? Well as a meteorologist and scientist we always have to consider the possibility that anything can happen. The weather is the weather. We don’t control it, but we do our absolute best to try and forecast it. From where we stand right now a significant snow will occur for some. Not everyone! Yes, a shift of 30 miles or so where the heaviest snow axis is right now may have to be adjusted or if we see more sleet mixing in we may have to bring totals down. In weather, everything is always “in flux”. That’s why it’s important to check back for changes. Yes I fully expect to be “wrong” about something. We cover 25 counties and maybe where we painted a 5”-8” snow instead only gets 4”, it’s bound to happen and I accept that. We try our best. Again the weather is the weather. 10. What kind of coverage is your team going to do? Morning show 7am-8am. A special 10:30am winter weather update on WCIA. An update before the noon NFL game and during halftime of both NFL games. Thanks again & stay safe!