As winter maintains its grip on the Windy City, Chicagoans awoke this morning to another round of snowfall, calling for some shovel-ready resilience. In an advisory released early Friday, the National Weather Service reports "a chance of snow showers, mainly after 5pm," introducing a high near 36 degrees with a west southwest wind around 15 mph, and gusts up to 25 mph. The certainty of precipitation stands firm at 100%, with less than an inch of snow expected to coat the cityscape by day's end, according to the NWS forecast.
Meanwhile, visibility problems have already hit, particularly in the northwest suburbs where NBC 5 traffic reporter Kye Martin has warned of "visibility dropping" due to heavy snowflakes. Chicagoans should plan for snow showers that may linger into the night with a 40% chance early, tapering off before Saturday's dawn, according to the NWS. The state's roads offer no respite, with the "Getting Around Illinois" winter conditions map highlighting numerous areas already under a blanket, partly or mostly, of snow and ice. This was some heavier to moderate snowfall was noticed, especially in Kane, Kendall, and DuPage Counties, per the observation by NBC 5 Storm Team 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman, as reported by NBC Chicago.
The weather outlook for Saturday does not seem promising for those weary of winter's chill, with the National Weather Service forecasting "a 30 percent chance of snow after noon." The daytime's partial sun will not do much in the face of a high barely scraping 21 degrees, while winds continue to play their part, gusting as high as 25 mph. The odds of snow decrease slightly for Saturday night, but offer no real consolation—the combination of clouds and a low around 10 degrees will pull wind chill values down further, making it feel as though it's -2.
The week opens to Martin Luther King Day with a sharp reminder that sometimes the freeze endures even across days set aside for warmth of community and remembrance. A partly sunny and cold high near 10 degrees will mark the day, and come Monday night, residents can expect the mercury to again dip, leaving us with a low around 4. In a city where cold is learned in the bones, this will be but another passage in a long winter narrative written by nature itself.
