Chicago weather: Freezing rain expected tonight, winter advisory to go into effect
CHICAGO - For most of the day, we will simply be dealing with cloud cover in Chicago, awaiting the icy mix that will arrive tonight.
Chicago Weather Forecast
It will take all day, but highs will eventually reach close to freezing, a little bit colder far north, perhaps a little bit above freezing south of the Kankakee River. The ice which will fall as primarily freezing rain with perhaps some sleet mixed in is likely to start after the bulk of the afternoon commute is over.
Total freezing rain accumulations will not be anywhere near thick enough to down trees and powerlines. However, even a light glaze will be more than enough to create slick conditions on untreated surfaces.

Major roadways will hopefully have an adequate amount of salt down to promote immediate melting of the freezing rain, leading to far fewer problems on main roads. Side streets, some bridges and overpasses would be more prone to having icy conditions overnight. My primary concern is for the person stepping out of their back door with their dog or to get the mail and slipping on their porch or sidewalk.
A Winter Weather Advisory will be in effect from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Whatever ice falls should end long before tomorrow’s commute. There may be some brief residual impacts on untreated surfaces, but mother nature is going to help out big time as highs warm up to around 40 with sunshine breaking out by late morning.
Future forecast
What's next:
Friday looks like a quiet day with highs slightly colder than normal, right around freezing. The next storm system is still a maybe on Saturday. The preferred European suite of models favors some ice and snow across the area. The US model is now showing a complete miss to the south. We will stay on top of the system and its potential impact here for Saturday.
The Source: The information in this report came from FOX 32 Meteorologist Mike Caplan.