Chicago weather: Biggest snowstorm of the season is coming

Name: Chicago Weather: Biggest snow of the year is on the way
Uploaded: 2025-02-12T05:12:10-06:00
Description: Fox 32 Meteorologist Mike Caplan has the forecast for Feb. 12, 2025.

Chicago Weather: Biggest snow of the year is on the way

Fox 32 Meteorologist Mike Caplan has the forecast for Feb. 12, 2025.

CHICAGO - This winter’s biggest snowstorm is on the way today.

Fox 32 Meteorologist Mike Caplan has the forecast and what you can expect.

Multiple inches of snow

What to expect:

There will be some light snow in the area this morning, which could possibly accumulate up to a half inch.

The light teaser of overnight snow left without much fanfare in its wake by about 7 a.m.

The heavier snow is still on the way especially this afternoon and evening.

There are some subtle signs of a less impactful system coming through based on recent computer models. To be clear, however, the difference between 2-4 inches and 3-5 inches isn’t that much.

The newer models have definitely cut back slightly on snow totals though.

I still think 3-4 inches will dominate the landscape but any 6-inch totals will be few and far between.

Due to lake-enhancement, the risk of a bigger total is favored over in north suburban Lake County, Illinois.

This evening’s commute will take place with snow coming down at a good clip. Snow will wind down by midnight if not a bit before.

The rest of tomorrow will feature clearing skies with temperatures going nowhere.

Air travel impact:

As of around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, there were slight delays at Chicago's airports, and around 33 flight cancelations at O'Hare and 40 at Midway.

What's next:

On Friday for Valentine’s Day, temperatures will rise into the upper 20s after a very cold start in the single digits.

Snow returns during the afternoon and evening, which could complicate travel as people head out to dinner. Snow will continue intermittently through Saturday.

The early take on accumulations would be close to what we end up with today.

After Saturday’s snowfall, bitter cold temperatures arrive with highs into next week holding in the teens with lows that might get below zero away from the city in many communities.