New Years Eve in Chicago will be ushered in with a winter weather advisory, freezing drizzle and light snow as festive flurries were expected to continue throughout the day and into the evening hours.
According to the National Weather Service, a winter weather advisory citing freezing drizzle and glaze ice threats for nearly all Chicago area counties -- including Central Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Kenosha, Lake (IL and IN), La Salle, McHenry, Newton, Porter and Northern Will counties -- was expected to last until 12 p.m. Sunday.
At 10 a.m., the NWS canceled the advisory for all counties except La Salle, noting that freezing drizzle across the area had transitioned to snow.
"Precipitation has changed over to all snow," the NWS said in an alert. "Motorists should still use caution as bursts of snow will result in brief slushy snow accumulations on untreated and less traveled surfaces."
Flurries are expected to last throughout the day and into the evening, the NWS said. As the clock strikes midnight and 2024 begins, a "burst of snow" could occur along Lake Michigan in Illinois as well as Lake and Porter counties in Indiana, with slippery travel conditions and poor visibility at times , the NWS continued.
According to NBC 5 Storm Team meteorologist Kevin Jeanes, a wintry, lake-effect mix of snow and rain is expected to continue overnight. Overall, accumulations of up to one inch could form, Jeanes added.
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Jeanes also noted that Sunday could be the coldest day the Chicago area has had in the entire month of December, with a high of 33 degrees, and wind chill values even lower.
"Today will be one of the coldest days we’ve had this month," Jeanes said. "It will feel like the 20s all day."
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For New Year's Day Monday, mixed snow showers are expected to continue in Indiana, with brighter but partly cloudy skies and highs in the mid 30s, Jeanes said.
