Warnings and advisories have been issued across central Illinois in advance of a potentially dangerous winter storm.

The National Weather Service in Lincoln has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the northern 1/2 of Illinois for tonight (FRI) into Saturday evening. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for a corridor of central Illinois between I-72 and I-70 tonight through Saturday evening.

Snow will overspread the warning area this evening and continue through Saturday evening. The Winter Weather Advisory area will see a mix of freezing rain and snow in a narrow corridor of central Illinois tonight, changing to all snow on Saturday.  Current expectations are for most of the area north of a line from Taylorville to Danville to receive 4 to 6 inches of new snowfall. In addition, north winds will increase to around 20 mph with gusts to 35 mph by midday Saturday, leading to blowing and drifting of the snow as well as reduced visibilities. 

The result will be extremely hazardous travel conditions tonight through Saturday night. Motorists are urged to take precautions for the severe winter weather conditions.

The storm will be followed by a blast of cold Arctic air causing high temperatures Sunday to struggle into double digits.

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