As a winter storm unfolds, Chicagoans can count on a mixture of heavy rain, sleet and snow in coming days, possible inflicting journey issues and flooding.
The Nationwide Climate Service issued a winter storm warning early Thursday morning into the night for the next Illinois counties: La Salle, Kendall, Grundy, Kankakee, Livingston, components of Prepare dinner, components of Will. The warning was additionally issued for Lake and Porter counties in Indiana.
The warning might be in impact from 3 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday.
Based on the warning, a time interval of accumulating freezing rain and sleet is anticipated late Wednesday evening into Thursday morning. By Thursday afternoon, the rain and sleet will possible flip into heavy snowfall, which might accumulate from 1 to eight inches.
Chicagoans can count on greater than 1 inch of snowfall per hour at occasions Thursday afternoon, officers mentioned, accompanied by wind gusts as much as 40 mph.
A winter storm watch was additionally issued for for DeKalb, Kane, DuPage, Prepare dinner, LaSalle, Kendall, Grundy, Will and Kankakee counties in Illinois, together with Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana, from Wednesday evening by Thursday night.
In DuPage, La Salle, Kendall, Grundy, Kankakee, Livingston, components of Prepare dinner and components of Will counties in Illinois, in addition to Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana, a wind advisory is in impact from 9 a.m. to six p.m. Wednesday.
At occasions, wind gusts might attain 40 to 50 mph, in keeping with the advisory. Climate officers warned small tree limbs may very well be blown down and energy outages are anticipated.
Wednesday is about to begin out with above-average temperatures, with highs anticipated to climb into the mid 40s to low 50s throughout the realm.
These fashions point out that rain will start to fall throughout the realm Wednesday afternoon and into the night, inflicting flooding issues in low-lying areas and alongside rivers and streams. That rain, together with the nice and cozy temperatures, might trigger ice jams to interrupt up, resulting in much more flooding issues within the coming days.
A flash flood watch is in impact for Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana, in keeping with the Nationwide Climate Service, however forecasters say that heavy rain is anticipated in lots of areas, particularly south of Interstate 80.
That rain might proceed to fall by Thursday morning, but it surely might rely on how rapidly temperatures start to drop. The excessive temperature for the day might be recorded at midnight, and readings will proceed to drop all through the day, turning the precipitation into ice after which into snow by the point the system lastly strikes out of the realm late Thursday.
Freezing rain and sleet are potential throughout the Thursday morning commute, with forecasters warning residents to follow secure driving habits within the occasion of harsh early-morning climate.
The latter a part of the storm is the place the largest uncertainty nonetheless stays. The system is anticipated to maneuver quickly into the realm from the Nice Plains on Wednesday, however the observe that it’s going to take will in the end decide how rapidly the precipitation adjustments from rain to snow, after which how a lot snow might probably fall in components of the Chicago space.
If the storm takes a extra northerly route, then the town and a lot of the suburbs might see accumulating snow on Thursday. Whereas it’s unclear simply how a lot snow might fall, moisture off of Lake Michigan might probably result in lake-enhancement, driving up totals within the metropolis and within the northern and western suburbs.
Within the different state of affairs, the storm might veer extra to the south, primarily impacting central Illinois and Indiana. The far southern suburbs in Kankakee County, together with components of northwest Indiana, may be impacted by this storm, which might drop loads of rain and snow on the area earlier than shifting out.
No matter which route the storm system strikes, it stays possible that the Chicago space will see at the least some snow on Thursday, with icy and windy circumstances resulting in severe journey issues all through the day.
One remaining menace might additionally emerge within the type of important lakeshore flooding in each Illinois and northwest Indiana. Sturdy northerly winds are anticipated on Wednesday and Thursday, which might trigger large waves and pose a menace to low-lying areas close to the water.
By Friday, circumstances will possible have cleared up, with below-freezing temperatures anticipated to kick off the weekend.