Snow begins increasing after midnight and grows widespread by 4 a.m. Wednesday. Totals are expected to top off at a fairly modest 2 to 4 inches, but it will be falling during the Wednesday morning rush – making for a potentially slippery morning commute.
A Winter Weather Advisory begins at midnight Tuesday night, and continues through midnight Wednesday night. The entire Chicago area is under the advisory, along with much of Illinois to the west and southwest.
Parts of downstate Illinois – including Danville, Champaign, Decatur, Vandalia, and Carbondale – will all be under a Winter Storm Warning beginning at 9 p.m. Snow totals in those areas could top out at 7 inches.
The Winter Storm Warning also stretches from St. Louis through Indianapolis to Detroit.
A Winter Weather Advisory is also issued for a wide swath of the country – from northern Maine southwest all the way to West Texas. A tornado warning was issued in Louisiana west-southwest of New Orleans Tuesday night, and a tornado was also confirmed earlier in Pasadena, Texas east of Houston.
Back in Chicago, the first fingers of snow are expected to move in around 2 a.m. They will be on the light side and may even be mixed with rain at the beginning.
But snow be will widespread over most of the area by 4 a.m. This is expected to be a wet and heavier snow, so plan on slushy accumulation for your morning commute.
CBS
The snow will still be falling everywhere and accumulating at 7 a.m. as the morning rush hour peaks.
CBS
The best timeline for accumulating snow is 4 a.m. to noon. After noon, there will still be isolated pockets of snow, and some lake-effect snow will fall late Wednesday on the rim of the lake in Northwest Indiana.
Snow totals could top out at 1 to 3 inches north of Chicago near the Wisconsin state line, 2 to 4 inches for most of the Chicago area and parts west, and 4 to 6 inches for parts of Northwest Indiana – including Valparaiso, LaPorte, and Rensselaer.
Scattered snow shower chances continue Wednesday night and into Thursday morning. Only light accumulations are expected in this timeframe, but slick spots are still possible through Thursday morning.
Little to no accumulation is in the forecast for Friday, with just some lingering snow chances. We’ll have another opportunity for measurable snowfall this weekend, especially late Saturday through Sunday morning. A few inches to several inches of accumulation will be possible then.
Source: CBS Chicago