Photo by Crystal Reed
Snow removal was being done by equipment in the parking lot of the Bethany Village Hall on Friday morning. Removal of snow was complicated by high winds that caused drifting on Thursday.

•February 9, 2022•
by Crystal Reed
NP Writer

Last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the local area received rain, freezing rain, sleet and heavy snow. The situation was complicated when paired with winds gusting 30-35 mph causing blowing and drifting snow, which resulted in dangerous travel conditions. According to the National Weather Service at Lincoln, the highest snowfall totals ranged from 8-15 inches within a swath situated between the Illinois River and I-70.
NWS also reported that ice amounts were brief for most areas, with the largest accumulations situated south of I-72 where one to three inches were reported prior to the heavy snowfall. Over the weekend, the area saw bitter cold with wind chills in the negatives Friday night into Saturday. Ben Deubelweiss, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Lincoln, said the extended forecast had no precipitation expected through the middle of this week.
When it comes to snow totals, Debelweiss reported that the totals they had recorded for our area included Lovington at 9.9 inches of snow, Sullivan with 5.8 inches of snow and Windsor with 10 inches of snow.
According to Moultrie County Sheriff Chris Sims, during the period of time of the storm there were large amounts of slide-offs, vehicles that spun out and stranded motorists to which the department responded.
Sullivan Township Road Commissioner Rich Rutledge said his crew of five came in Thursday afternoon, but because of snow and wind, they ran emergencies only. At 10 p.m. Thursday, they began poking holes in the accumulated snow on the roads. On Friday at 4 a.m., they ran all roads and pushed back snow. Sullivan Township is responsible for 95 township and 16 county miles. Read More