Residents of Chicago should brace for a wintry mix this weekend, as the city anticipates its first snowfall of the season. According to a forecast from the National Weather Service, rain is expected to start today and continue into the night. As temperatures drop, precipitation is set to change from rain to a combination of sleet and snow after midnight, turning to snow after 5 a.m. with an 80% chance of precipitation and a possibility of less than a half-inch accumulation.
Looking to Sunday, there's a 60% chance of morning snow, potentially adding less than an inch to the wintry blanket. It doesn't end there; Sunday night also carries a 50 percent chance of snow, and again on Monday, with the same story of a partly sunny sky. Fox 32 Meteorologist Mark Strehl adds, "It’s the communities right around the lakeshore that are most in danger of seeing some snow," with lake effect snow likely hitting areas of Chicago and Lake County, and possibly stretching into Northwest Indiana.
The decline in temperature marks a notable shift from the 60-degree warmth on Friday, dropping to the mid-40s during this weekend. The normal high for this period hovers around 53 degrees, indicating just how brisk this cold front intends to be. Amidst this cooling trend, Veterans Day continues the snowy narrative with a 20 percent chance of snow before noon, while the rest of the coming week appears to dry out and warm slightly, with sunny skies and highs reaching near 50 degrees by Wednesday.
Chicagoans are accustomed to their city's mercurial weather, yet the first snow of the season always brings its own flavor of anticipation and preparation. Whether you're near the gales of Lake Michigan or tucked further inland, it is the time to pull out the winter coats, boots, and perhaps ponder the slow dance of seasons that swirl and eddy around the city's storied skyscrapers.
