weather

Peoria Public Schools will be closed again Monday, Jan. 26, due to extreme cold and ongoing concerns for student safety — especially those who walk to school. Schools were closed Friday, too.

All court hearings will be postponed Friday. Traffic and criminal hearings will be rescheduled by mail. Civil proceedings must be rescheduled via email.

The warning is in effect from 3 a.m. to noon Friday for McLean, Woodford, Tazewell, Peoria, Marshall, Stark and Knox counties.

Much of Central Illinois will be facing some extreme cold Thursday night into Friday. Dangerously cold wind chills as low as 25 to 30 degrees below zero are possible.

The National Weather Service confirmed three tornadoes in Central Illinois during a severe weather outbreak Sunday. There was damage in Pontiac and near Pekin and Decatur.

Peoria has already seen nearly 17 inches of snow this month. An entire winter's worth of snow is around 26 inches.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for much of Central Illinois from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. The weather service said the Peoria area is expected to get 2 to 6 inches, starting Saturday morning.

Accumulation of between 2 to 5 inches is possible with snowfall starting in the afternoon and continuing primarily until around 10 p.m. Lighter snow may continue overnight.

The chief meteorologist at WEEK-TV is retiring on Oct. 15 after two generations of forecasting weather to the Peoria and Bloomington-Normal TV market.

The Illinois Democrat and former TV weatherman is pushing the Trump Administration to deliver a plan as extreme weather events become more frequent.