LINCOLN -- The worst of the current bout of snowy weather is expected to abate Wednesday afternoon, but the thermometers will give people little reason to forget it's still winter.

"We're still going to have some blowing snow until about noon or 1 p.m.," said National Weather Service Meteorologist Brian Churchill. "It is still likely to cause some visibility and transportation problems, but once the wind dies down it will be back to winter."

And that means cold temperatures. In fact, Wednesday night's low is expected to be near 4 degrees.

At least the snow predicted for Friday shouldn't be as bad as the current storm, which buried roads, closed schools and tied up air travel across the state.

"In fact, we're starting to wonder if that system is going to produce enough moisture to have any effect at all," Churchill said.

Sunshine returns to the forecast for Thursday with a predicted high of 20 degrees, but the low likely will dip down into the single digits once again.

"We will probably see a low of around 9 on Thursday night, but it will warm up a little after that," Churchill said. "It could still be awhile before we get above freezing, however. It may be another week yet."

Churchill said the system that arrived Monday dropped 4 to 6 inches of snow across most of the region by Tuesday night, but because of the wind, it sometimes made it difficult to get exact measurements.

As of 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, the latest available official reading time, the Bloomington-Normal area received about 4 inches of snow. Lincoln reported 4.1 inches, but Peoria had 5.3 inches and Champaign, 6 inches.

Some areas of the state received as much as 10 inches of snow, snarling roads and air travel across the state.

Police in Central Illinois reported no accidents with serious injuries resulting from the weather.

Meanwhile, many schools throughout the state were closed Tuesday.

While just about every district around him was closed, Bloomington District 87 Assistant Superintendent Barry Reilly decided early Tuesday his students would go to school.

The decision in Bloomington, he said, is easier than in most places because the district doesn't cover any territory where students may have to drive or be driven down country roads through blowing snow.

Normal-based Unit 5 school district followed the pattern of many largely rural districts closed, however.

"If I was in their shoes, I would have closed school for them, as well," Reilly said. "They don't want to put children in harm's way -- those waiting for buses or those who are high school students driving to school."

A 16-year-old girl from Pesotum, just south of Champaign, died last week driving to school on an icy country road.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.