01/20/2010 - Freezing rain causing accidents throughout area

The rain that started about 7:30 a.m. is now freezing as it hits the pavement, sending cars into ditches and each other.

Illinois State Police are handling several accidents on area interstates and city officers are responding to several too.

A freezing rain advisory is in effect until 6 a.m. Thursday with hazardous driving conditions and an accumulation of ice predicted throughout the day.

Champaign County Emergency Management Agency Director Bill Keller said the forecast is for only one to two-tenths of an inch of icing.

"The latest forecast shows it should be above freezing by mid-afternoon, which will help. As long as we don’t end up with power outages we’ll be OK.  It's the weather and it doesn't always do what we think it's going to do."

A report from the National Weather Service said the freezing rain and drizzle is expected through late tonight, especially in the northern portions of Central Illinois.

“Warm moist air will be lifted over a cold dome of air near the ground. The freezing rain will initially fall on to dry sub-freezing roads and sidewalks which will allow a thin layer of ice to immediately form. Temperatures will warm above freezing by afternoon ... generally south of a line from Rushville to Lincoln to Champaign. As dry air comes in aloft later this afternoon and tonight, freezing rain may mix with or change to freezing drizzle at times for areas from Galesburg to Peoria and Bloomington. Freezing precipitaiton will continue through early Thursday morning,” according to the weather service.

In Urbana, all the city streets were expected to be treated by mid-morning, said Operations Manager Rich Coyne.

"We were out at 5 a.m. pretreating our primaries and secondaries. They’re holding up and we’re in the residentials salting them. The whole town will be done here this morning. Then we’ll see how it holds up," Coyne said.

Storm Reference: 20100121AIU