Winter weather advisory in effect as Chicago area braces for another 2-3 inches of snow
Though the snowy morning commute may have come to an end, the winter weather advisory and corresponding warning to drive cautiously continued Monday morning. Roads are still covered with snow and remain slippery, forecasters said.
“This morning, pretty much area-wide ranged from 1 to 3 inches and there’s still some falling,” said Rafal Ogorek, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “Snow did accumulate on roadways.”
He said temperatures in northern Illinois ranged from the teens to the upper 20s, but the temperature is expected to climb slightly during the afternoon.
The snow, according to Ogorek, will gradually come to an end, though there may still be a few flurries flying around.
Most of northern Illinois, northwest Indiana and southern Wisconsin were under a winter weather advisory early Monday as forecasters said chilly temps would cause the 2 or 3 inches of snow that was expected to fall during the morning commute to stick to area roads.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service said the winter weather advisory would remain in effect until 12 p.m., but the “highest snowfall rates (were) expected during the Monday morning commute,” according to its website, which warned motorists to expect “slow and hazardous travel.”
Snow was moving across the Rockford and Chicago metropolitan areas toward the east, forecasters said.
“Though amounts will be on the light side, cold temperatures are allowing snow to stick to untreated roads,” meteorologists said. “If encountering snow-covered roads, reduce your speed and increase your following distance. Snow will taper off from the west later this morning into early afternoon.”
Most of the major roads around Chicago were either covered or mostly covered with ice and snow as of about 7:20 a.m., according to the state’s interactive travel website. Snowplows and salt trucks were expected to be out in force to help clear the falling snow, but meteorologists said the cold weather would increase the likelihood of it sticking.
Temps in the Chicago area are only expected to reach highs in the single digits Tuesday, and it could potentially be the coldest night the city has had this winter.
“Downtown Chicago has not gone below zero yet,” said Ricky Castro, a meteorologist with the weather service. “We’re forecasting the entire metro area at below zero on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, looking at negative double-digit readings in the west and northwest suburbs.”
The wind chill values in the west and northwest suburbs may drop to between 10 and 20 degrees below zero.
“And maybe even lower than that,” Castro said.
To check back for updates and for more on the weather, visit the Tribune’s weather page.
