Tuesday marks the calm before the storm in Chicago

CHICAGO - Tuesday is the calm before the storm. It will be cloudy but not too cold with highs in the mid 30s.

No snow is expected for the evening commute unless your drive starts after midnight. Snow will then move in from the south and is expected to continue through Wednesday across the Chicago area.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory from midnight through 6 p.m. Wednesday for roughly the southern half of our viewing area near and south of I-80, including Cook, Will, Kendall, Grundy and Kankakee counties.

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This is where accumulation may exceed 3 inches. Most of the snow is expected to fall between 5 a.m. and noon, according to the weather service. The heaviest accumulation — 2-5 inches — is expected south of Interstate 80, and 1 to 3 inches is expected to the north.

It will be a wet snow with temperatures near 34 (or maybe a degree or two above), and wind gusts as strong as 30 mph for part of this event. This should mitigate road impacts.

There is a 30 percent chance of snow showers on Thursday, mainly after noon, with a high near 31. There is also a chance of snow on Friday with maybe another inch or so in some places.

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A bigger storm system appears to be in the offing this weekend, with several inches of accumulation looking increasingly likely. This is a ways off so plenty of time to massage the numbers on that one.

What is a lock is a pattern shift. Tuesday will be the 28th day in a row with above-normal temperatures.

Bitterly cold wind chills are expected to hit later in the weekend and into early next week, with wind chills in the teens below zero possible.