First Lightning Bolt Just South of Salem,Illinois

Thundersnow is showing up now on Precision 18 Snow Tracker between Mount Vernon and Salem, Illinois. This is important for us because a big part of the forecast was that this storm would be strong enough to generate thundersnow so we went with double digit totals.

Remember if you have lightning with snow it is called thundersnow and it has been known to drop one to as much as four inches of snow per hour here in the Midwest. Areas between Salem and St. Louis are picking up one inch of snow per hour and here in Lafayette we will also see about an inch of snow per hour until further notice. Lee Ann snapped some pictures on our new computer system we have been raving about and will show you on the air next week. You can see a shot of lightning track above...we will eventually put this on the web and it will be crystal clear. This picture turned out pretty well for taking a picture of a monitor, wouldn't you say?

Here is Live Doppler 18 showing heavy snow. Chris just called in from Frankfort and they have some heavy sleet coming down and I got to hear some loud pinging on the phone. This should change over to some heavy snow by 4 a.m. Precision 18 is showing some rotation in the clouds just north of Indianapolis which is very unusual. I told you during the last update that this snow is behaving more like heavy spring showers and thundershowers. What a start to February! We are not expecting any tornadoes, but it shows you how much energy is in the atmosphere right now.

Area snowfall totals:

Independence 3.5"

Boswell 3.5"

Remington 2.0"

WLFI 1.5"

Monticello 1.0"

Frankfort 0.5"

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!! We've got a snowstorm! Joke to keep you and us awake: Where does a snowman keep his money? In a snowbank. This joke works at 2 in the morning. Thank goodness my wife is sleeping and not having to hear this.