After making a brief appearance Wednesday, the warmth is gone and cold air out of the northwest is moving in, setting up the Chicago area for a frigid holiday weekend.
According to current forecast models, high temperatures on Thursday will be in the teens, just one day after highs in the 50s and 60s were reported across the Chicago area.
Things could be even colder on Friday, as the region could see single digit air temperatures, with strong northwesterly winds combining with the frigid air temperature to drop wind chills well below zero for the holiday.
For those residents hoping for a white Christmas, the region could see some pre-dawn flurries on the Western side of Lake Michigan. On the eastern and southeastern sides of the lake, however, things will be significantly different.
Across Laporte County in Indiana and Berrien County in Michigan, a winter storm watch has been issued ahead of expected lake-effect snow in the coming days. Projected Snow totals are showing amounts near six inches, and some locations could see close to a foot of snow for Christmas.
We'll know more about exact snowfall totals as new forecast models arrive Thursday.
