Chicagoans expecting a white Christmas are instead waking up to a palette of grays and drizzles as the city's weather forecast promises dampened spirits under cloudy skies. Today showcases patchy drizzle with dense fog blanketing the area until noon. According to a detailed forecast by the National Weather Service, skies will remain mostly cloudy with a high nearing 47 degrees. The calm that precedes tonight's patchy fog will yield a south wind meandering around 5 mph.
Turning to hazards beyond the drear, the National Weather Service has flagged "Significant Fog Risk" for the region. According to a hazardous weather outlook, visibility may fall to a quarter mile or less in many areas, particularly along and northwest of the I-55 corridor in northern Illinois. Heading into the night, fog is again expected to develop, notably west of the Fox Valley.
Moving on into Sunday, Chicagoans will find little reprieve from the fog before 9 a.m., with the south-southeast wind picking up to speeds of 5 to 10 mph. Cloud cover persists as the temperature climbs to a somewhat milder high of 54 degrees. The weather service warns that there's a slender 10 percent chance of rain after midnight.
The CBS Chicago report forecasts a rainy Christmas Day. With the temperature hovering around 56 degrees, umbrellas will be a more common sight than sleds. As the mercury drops throughout the subsequent week, the city faces a continuous spell of rain and a chance of snow mix extending through to Thursday.
Chicago's unsettled weather does not end with the weekend. The National Weather Service's forecast points towards rain, with a 90% chance of greeting Monday night. Those looking forward to Tuesday's conditions will be met with a 30 percent chance of rain amid a mostly cloudy sky. The highs throughout the early week seem set to stay in the high 40s. Heading towards midweek, Wednesday threatens more rain after noon and a dip in temperature to around 41 degrees. And for those out on Lake Michigan, the outlook is similarly bleak; hazardous conditions for small craft are likely come Thursday and Friday, ensuring that the festive season will be rocked by nature's less agreeable antics.
