Crashes, road closures reported downstate as winter storm causes whiteout conditions. Chicago area could get 4 inches of snow

A plow truck clears snow on the side of the street on W Addison St in Lakeview, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

The Illinois State Police issued a travel alert for central Illinois Thursday afternoon. Multiple crashes were reported on interstates 55 and 72.

The Illinois State Police issued a travel alert for central Illinois Thursday afternoon as a gusting winter storm caused white-out conditions.

Shortly before 2 p.m., the state police reported several crashes on interstates 55 and 72. ”Please slow down and stay off your phones,” it advised.

In Indiana, southbound lanes of Interstate 65 were closed in Newton County because of a traffic crash blamed on the weather. “Road conditions are quickly deteriorating,” the Indiana Department of Transportation tweeted.

A band of heavy snow swept from eastern Kansas into central Missouri early Thursday, then moved into central Illinois and northern Indiana by the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

The snow was expected to be the heaviest south of Interstate 80, with “near blizzard conditions possible south of a Pontiac, Illinois to Valparaiso Indiana line,” the weather service said.

The storm could drop up to four inches of snow in the Chicago area. The weather service warned of hazardous conditions for the evening rush hour, with temperatures dropping into the teens and winds gusting to 35 mph.

Friday was expected to be sunny with a high near 32.