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Accumulating snow will lead to a messy morning commute
Emily Wahls has your Chicago weather update!
CHICAGO - The first snowflakes of the season arrived in Chicagoland on Wednesday and scattered snow will continue through the night.
While accumulating snow is unlikely this evening, that won’t be the case on Thursday. A more impactful system will arrive in the morning, bringing moderate to heavy snow to the area.
A low pressure system will drop southward through the Great Lakes region early Thursday. Snow is expected to spread across Chicagoland from north to south in the morning, likely becoming heavy by mid to late morning.
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Chicago area sees first snowfall of the season
The first snowfall of the season has reached the Chicago area and the suburbs.
Locations near and north of I-88 will see the snow moving in as early as 7-8 a.m. The south suburbs and northwest Indiana will begin to see snow between 8-10 a.m. As the snow spreads southward across the area, snow rates are expected to increase. Widespread moderate to heavy snow will be possible by 9-10 a.m.
The heaviest snow rates will likely occur between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Travel is expected to be impacted and roads may become slushy. Snow rates are expected to be as high as one inch per hour.
In addition to heavy snow, it will also be very windy on Thursday. West-northwest winds are expected to gust as high as 40-45 mph, which will lead to reduced visibility on the roads. Commuters should be aware that the morning commute will be impacted, and travel will be slower than normal.
Chicago weather: Here comes the snow
Here comes the snow, folks:
As far as accumulations go, most of Chicagoland will see between 1–3 inches of snow on grassy and elevated surfaces.
By midday and early afternoon, temperatures will begin to warm, and snow will transition to rain. This will likely melt a lot of the snow that we pick up during the morning. The evening commute may feature a few stray rain showers, but many areas will dry out with cloudy skies.
Calmer conditions can be expected on Friday with just a small chance for a stray rain shower. Most areas will see cloudy skies with highs in the mid to upper 40s.
The weekend will be quiet and mostly cloudy with highs in the mid 40s on Saturday and then near 50 on Sunday.