When it snows they roll

AURORA -- Oh, the weather outside is ...

Well, given that our presses rolled about the expected time of Mother Nature's rumored wrath, we're really not quite sure.

But in the event the weather forecasters nailed their predictions of a major, overnight snowstorm blasting through Northern Illinois -- or even if they goofed, for that matter -- Fox Valley towns, counties and schools are ready for the flakes to fly.

And, hey, if they didn't? More salt for a future flurry.

"Let's plan for the worst, at least," Steve Meyer, Aurora's public works director, said of the city's intentions on Thursday afternoon, long before any snowflakes arrived.

"We're going to have all our pieces of equipment engaged."

There are 31 routes subdivided throughout the city and, depending on their size, snow-removal trucks could accommodate up to 10 tons of salt each.

There are a total of 568 road miles in Aurora, and that number reaches 1,200 when you consider many of the city's streets have multiple lanes, Meyer said.

City officials also have notified various contractors and supplied them with updated maps on their areas of concentration.

"We're just gearing up, waiting for this event," said Meyer, who noted the city has ordered an additional 1,500 tons of salt for future storms.

This first one, however, sounded like it could be a doozy.

Northern Illinois University meteorologist Gilbert Sebenste predicted "anywhere from 6 inches to a foot of snow late (Thursday) through noon (today)."

"But it will not be a dry, powdery snow," said Sebenste. "It'll be pretty much a heart-attack snow, so people in poor condition who are out there shoveling should be aware of that."

Sebenste also forecast winds up to 50 mph, beginning this morning and lasting until sundown. And with the snow being wet and heavy, he expected plenty of drifting, especially in rural areas.

"I'm quite confident that most areas will see at least six inches of snow fall," said National Weather Service meteorologist Casey Sullivan. "Certainly 10 inches is doable with this storm."

The Kane County Division of Transportation began winter operations, which include snow and ice control, anti-icing and snowplowing, at the end of October. The county has 33 snowplow trucks, three anti-icing trucks, a snow blower and an automatic self-spraying, anti-icing bridge deck.

Larger, four-lane roads have three trucks for each route. This year, the county will use rock salt mixed with Clear Lane, a liquid material that improves melting ability and reduces corrosion of the rock salt.

Although the county installs some snow fences in rural areas, it will, for the second year, use living snow fences -- mainly corn. Farmers are compensated for leaving six to 10 rows of corn in their field, parallel to the roadway. This provides improved safety for the roadway from drifting snow.

The Kendall County Highway Department attached plows to seven trucks and loaded them with salt Thursday. In the event snow continued through the night, five or six part-time employees, known as "snow birds," were scheduled to relieve the regular drivers.

The Illinois Tollway mobilized with a full call-out of 165 snowplows, salting and plowing the 274-mile tollway system. All temporary lane closures on the tollway have been canceled for today.

Like the towns, counties and schools, residents throughout the Valley were making their own preparations Thursday.

Ace Hardware on North Lake Street in Aurora was bustling all Thursday morning with people buying sand, snow shovels and ice-melting compounds in preparation for the storm, according to assistant manager Ray Lidecka.

"It's been gangbusters all morning here," Lidecka said. "We've had such mild weather, I think this caught a lot of people by surprise. I think people are just trying to get ready."

Staff writers Christine S. Moyer, Steve Lord, Heather Gillers, Justina Wang and the Sun-Times News Group contributed to this report.