'Peak' Snowfall Arrives, Creating Dangerous Travel: IL Weather

ILLINOIS — This winter has been mild by Illinois standards and after spending much of January without snow, the region woke up to a fresh blanket of the white stuff Wednesday morning, which has snarled the commute for many residents on their way to work.

While most of the area won’t see more than 2-4 inches of snow by the time the system moves out later in the day, the National Weather Service said that “peak” amounts continue to arrive during the morning hours. Wind gusts of up to 30 mph are also possible.

AccuWeather is predicting snow totals of 3-6 inches through late Wednesday night.

The National Weather Service said that road conditions will be “challenging” due to snow-covered roads. Visibility may diminish to less than a half-mile, especially during the morning hours.

Roads could remain slippery through this evening, especially near Lake Michigan, as a band of lake effect snow could continue as the rest of the weather pattern moves out of the area, forecasters said.

Additional snow may develop Wednesday night and Thursday morning, leading to another hazardous morning commute. More accumulating snow could arrive Saturday night into Sunday morning.

The National Weather Service offered estimated times and amounts of snowfall through Thursday morning.

Many parts of the Chicago area could see another half an inch to an inch of snow by late morning, with another half-inch or so between 1 and 5 p.m. before intermittent snow showers overnight.