Major Late-November Blizzard: 8–14" Snow & Power Outage Threat for Galesburg, Quad Cities & Chicagoland

National Weather Service-Lincoln meteorologist Mike Albano joined Galesburg's Morning News to discuss the “slam-dunk” historic storm hitting west-central Illinois this weekend — timeline, two-phase snow, 40 mph winds, and single-digit cold to follow. Full breakdown: When it starts: Snow spreads in from Iowa after midnight tonight (Friday night into Saturday morning) Worst window: 3 a.m.–noon Saturday — heaviest rates over 1" per hour for several hours Snow type: Starts light & fluffy (major blowing/drifting) → turns heavy, wet, and sloppy Saturday afternoon Expected totals: 8–14 inches widespread across Galesburg, Knox County, Peoria, Quad Cities, and most of Chicagoland Winds: Gusts nearing 40 mph Saturday evening → high risk of downed trees, power lines, and widespread outages Travel: NWS is strongly discouraging all travel — roads will be dangerous to impassable Saturday After the storm: Canadian cold blast + fresh snow = single-digit lows Sunday night (6–18°) and Monday night (9–20°) with wind chills near 0° Early next week: Another quick 1–2" possible late Monday–Tuesday; cold pattern continues into December Rarity: Once-every-20-year event for central/southeast Illinois (last comparable storm: weekend after Thanksgiving 2019) Mike Albano’s bottom line: “Confidence is about as high as it gets — this one’s a slam dunk.” Winter Storm Warnings are in effect. What you should do TODAY (Friday): Charge every device Stock food, water, batteries, flashlights Fill your gas tank Plan to stay home from late tonight through Saturday night [caption id="attachment_690015" align="aligncenter" width="800"] NWS Lincoln 6:51 AM Friday update: Heavy snow arrives tonight into Saturday (100% chance north of I-70), followed by a blizzard-like day and a plunge into single-digit lows Sunday and Monday nights. Winter Storm Warnings are in effect – prepare now.[/caption]