Chicago snow forecast: Timeline and expected totals for winter storm
Chicago snow forecast: Heavy snow expected Wednesday with impacts to travel likely
Emily Wahls has your weather update!
CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FORECAST - Chicago snow forecast: Timeline of winter storm comes into focus
CHICAGO - Several snow chances are in the forecast for the Chicago area this week, and a couple of days could feature heavy accumulating snowfall.
Timeline:
A cold front is set to move through the area Monday night, bringing increasing cloud cover and possibly a few scattered snow showers tonight into Tuesday.
Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy with scattered snow showers. High temperatures will be below normal in the mid to upper 20s.
All eyes are on our Wednesday system.
Confidence is growing that at least parts of the area will see 6 or more inches of snow.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for most of Chicagoland from Wednesday morning through late Wednesday night. The Watch includes McHenry, Lake (IL), DeKalb, Kane, DuPage, Cook, LaSalle, Kendall, Grundy, Will, Kankakee, Lake (IN), Porter, and LaPorte Counties.
Snow will move into Chicagoland by mid to late morning Wednesday, continuing into Wednesday night.
The Wednesday afternoon and evening commutes will likely be heavily impacted. Commuters should plan accordingly.
There are a few uncertainties with this system, one being how far north the rain/snow line is able to reach.
As of now, it appears that the south suburbs and parts of NW Indiana may see snow transition over to freezing rain and sleet. If this were to occur, snow totals would be drastically cut down in this region, but icing would become the major concern.
Snow is expected to end late Wednesday night, and the Thursday morning commute should be much better off than any Wednesday evening or night travel.
Thursday will be partly cloudy and cold with falling temperatures. Highs will be in the 20s in the morning, and then drop into the teens during the day.
Thursday night will be very cold with many areas dropping below zero. Temperatures will climb into the 20s again on Friday and snow chances will return Friday night into Saturday.
What we don't know:
There are still quite a few uncertainties about our Saturday system, but it will be something to watch as the week goes on.
The Source: Information from this weather article was provided by Chief Meteorologist Emily Wahls.