As Chicago braces for a walloping, the forecast from the National Weather Service doesn't mince words—it's going to be a weekend buried in snow. The city squares up against a winter storm expected to heap 6 to 12 inches of snow. With the Winter Storm Warning in effect until the early hours of Sunday, traveling is predicted to get rough out there.
According to a report, today's snowy siege brings with it a 100% chance of precipitation, and that's not just idle chit-chat. We're talking about totals ranging from 4 to 8 inches during the day, and an additional 1 to 3 inches tonight. Outside, where the temperature clings steadily near 29 degrees, the wind gusts could lash out as hard as 30 mph, slinging snow in every direction.
Transitioning from a solid snow to a snow-rain mix before midnight, the skies will not give it a rest. It's like the clouds have bet it all on white, with the forecast showing snowfall likely going into the dawn. Later, Sunday's daytime snow likelihood is a bit more modest, anticipating less than a half inch of new snow, but still, the winds persist, strong and chilling, as reported by the National Weather Service.
On the ground, the choreography of clearing streets falls to more than 225 workers, as Cole Stallard, the City of Chicago's commissioner of Streets and Sanitation, discussed during a segment on Good Day Chicago. He mentioned the city's readiness to tackle the 9,400 lane miles navigating snowy throes, aiming to keep roads passable. With careful precision, Stallard explained, "More than 225 workers will be out and about to keep the city's 9,400 lane miles of roads as safe as possible," as retold in an interview by FOX 32 Chicago.
While the south suburbs might catch a slight break, with a lighter load of 5 to 9 inches forecasted, the northern regions and the west aren't so lucky, facing down the barrel of a 7 to 11-inch snow cannon.
