Winty Blast Could Drop Up To 9 Inches of Snow in Illinois

It may be spring, but that's not stopping a wintry storm barreling toward Illinois that could dump as much a 9 inches of snow on central portions of the state.

The National Weather Service has issued winter storm advisories, watches and warnings for all of central Illinois and much of the Midwest.

In the WILL Severe Weather Coverage Area, a Winter Storm Warning runs from 1 AM Sunday to 1 AM Monday in Macon and Moultrie Counties, and from 4 AM Sunday to 7 PM Monday,for Champaign, Vermilion, Douglas, Piatt, Coles and DeWitt Counties.A Winter Storm Watch is scheduled to start Sunday afternnon in Ford Counthy.

Snow is forecast to begin falling around midnight Saturday and continue into Sunday night.

A band of heavy snow could leave behind 6 to 9 inches in central areas from Taylorville to Danville.

Some areas north of Peoria could get 4 to 6 inches.

Forecasters expect a mixture of snow and rain south of I-70.

In Champaign, the city's Public Works Department says it will have work crews on duty starting at midnight, Saturday night, to begin treating streets in advance of the snow, or plowing the snow once it's fallen. The city is asking Champaign residents to keep city streets free of parked vehicles for the time bieng, to so that plowing efforts can go ahead unhindered.

With temperatures near or just above freezing, the storm is expected to produce so-called "heart attack snow'' that is very wet and difficult to shovel.