Thundersnow, Heavy Snow Possible For Some In IL, 1-4 Inches For Others

ILLINOIS — After a weeklong build-up to what forecasters were calling a winter storm with hard-to-predict snowfall estimates, the worst of the March weather event expected to hit Friday afternoon appears to be tracking south of Chicago, forecasters said.

But residents in the affected areas could still be in for a doozy of an afternoon trip home.

The mixed precipitation is expected to arrive Friday afternoon and could make the evening commute messy, especially for residents in the south suburbs. A winter storm warning is expected to go into effect in eastern Will County at noon, along with Kankakee County and northwest Indiana, National Weather Service forecasters said on Friday.

A winter weather advisory goes into effect at that time in DuPage, Kendall, and Grundy counties, as well as central and northern Cook County and northern and southern Will County.

The heaviest snow is expected to hit the region just as the evening commute is ramping up with southern portions of the greater Chicago area potentially seeing up to 3 inches of snow per hour, officials said. The counties where the winter storm warning is in effect will see the bulk of the snow, while other areas of the Chicago area will likely see a rain-snow mix depending on where temperatures fall.

Counties included in the winter storm warning region could experience “crippling” travel conditions, with strong winds making driving near impossible at times. Those areas could also see thundersnow, especially along the Illinois-Indiana border.

The potential for heavy snow, high wind gusts and possible power outages has prompted some school districts in the area to cancel classes or revert to eLearning, while other schools are closing early on Friday and canceling after-school events.

Winds could gust up to 40 mph, forecasters say, which could make evening travel difficult. AccuWeather forecasters are predicting that residents in counties under the winter storm advisory will only see 1-3 inches of snow, while areas in the winter storm warning area will see 4 to 8 inches of snow.

AccuWeather forecasters are predicting that there is only a 9 percent chance of residents seeing more than 6 inches of snow, a 42 percent chance of 3-6 inches falling, and a 46 percent chance of snow falling in the 1-3 inch range.