Winter storm warning as Chicago braces for up to 8 inches of springtime snow

CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - Chicagoans are in for at least one more snowfall — and it could be a hefty one — before they can finally say that spring has sprung.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the Chicago area that’s slated to last from 1 p.m. Saturday until at least 1 a.m. Sunday.

Midday rain will turn into “heavy, very wet snow early in the afternoon and continuing into the evening,” the weather service said. The snow could accumulate as quickly as 1 to 2 inches per hour, with totals as high as 8 inches possible in the northern areas of Cook, Kane and DuPage counties.

High temperatures of 44 degrees are expected to fall to 35 by 4 p.m. Saturday, the weather service said, and return to a high of 51 degrees by Sunday.

Saturday’s storm carries risks for high winds and lakeshore flooding as well, the weather service said. Commuters are advised that travel on Saturday could be very difficult.

The latest that Chicago has ever seen an inch of snow was May 3, 1907, National Weather Service Meteorologist Andrew Krein said. Usually, snowfall can be expected to stop accumulating in mid-March.

Temperatures are expected to jump back into the 50s early next week.