Arctic Cold Front With -20 Wind Chills Moves In Wednesday To IL

ILLINOIS — An Arctic cold blast will hit the Chicago area starting Wednesday afternoon, through Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service Chicago.

Bitterly cold wind chills of 20 below zero are expected.

The weather service said the Arctic front will bring snow showers on Wednesday afternoon, which could cause low visibility and some quick accumulations. The snow could impact the afternoon and evening commutes.

Then, Wednesday evening, "temperatures will plummet as west to northwest winds increase. Wind chills will drop to -10 to -20 overnight," the weather service said.

Temperatures will start to fall around noon on Wednesday, and to the teens by sunset, the weather service said.

The high for Wednesday is 31 degrees before the cold front, and the high for Thursday is 21 degrees. Conditions will start to warm up after Thursday, with a high of 40 degrees expected on Friday, according to the weather service.

There are multiple snow chances as we head into the weekend as well. The weather service said a coating of snow is expected south of Interstate 80 on Thursday, and a storm system could bring a wintry mix to the area on Friday into Saturday.