Chicagoans, brace yourselves: a significant winter storm is bearing down on the city, promising a blanket of 6 to 10 inches of snow this weekend. Escalating from tranquil skies today to a tempest by tomorrow, the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning from the early hours of 3 a.m. Saturday through to the frosty morn of 6 a.m. Sunday.
Sharp flurries are set to fly starting post-midnight Friday, picking up pace into an intense barrage through Saturday, as per local forecasts. Indeed, there's a high probability that the greater Chicago area will find itself buried under a substantial snowfall; the service indicates a 70% chance of the metro area receiving up to 10 inches. While the light of today shines upon a chilling 32 degrees, the evening ushers in the onset of wintry flurries preluding the weekend's snowy siege.
For those hoping the snow might tread lightly, temper those expectations. Come Saturday afternoon, the rate of snowfall might well surge to an inch per hour, reminding residents that nature brooks no negotiations with calendar or clock. "Travel could be very difficult," the Weather Service warned in its announcement, putting Saturday travel plans in jeopardy.
With the storm's crescendo anticipated in the heart of the weekend, those with plans are advised to find detours, to redirect their steps to safer, snow-unladen days. Forecasters prompted residents with a clear advisory: expect prolonged travel durations, adopt a conservative velocity on the roads, and keep an extra cushion of space between your vehicle and the next.
Looking past the weekend’s blizzard blast, Chicago can expect ongoing winter conditions with temperatures hovering around the frozen mark through to the following week.
