Chicago Weather

Chicago Expected to See First Snow Since March as Winter Weather Approaches

The city of Chicago is currently in one of its longest-recorded stretches without snowfall, but that is expected to change on Tuesday, as a weather system is expected to bring snow to northern Illinois and northwest Indiana.

A winter weather advisory will go into effect at 9 a.m. across the area. That advisory will run through 6 p.m. in McHenry, Lake, DeKalb, Kane, DuPage, northern and central Cook counties, according to the National Weather Service.

In LaSalle, Kendall, Grundy, southern Cook County and Will County, as well as Lake County in Indiana, the advisory will last until 3 p.m.

As of Tuesday, it will have been 287 days without a measurable snowfall in the city, with that last snowfall occurring on March 15.

In fact, the longest stretch without a measurable snowfall occurred in 2012, when the city of Chicago went 290 days without one.

According to forecast models, that streak is expected to come to an end on Tuesday. A winter weather advisory has been issued by NWS for a system that is expected to drop 2-to-4 inches of snow in some locations, and Chicago is expected to get at least an inch or two of snow for the first time since last winter.

Assuming that the city gets at least one-tenth of an inch of snow, fulfilling the definition of “measurable snow” in the eyes of the National Weather Service, it will mark the latest first measurable snow that the city has had since record-keeping began. The city recently surpassed the previous record of Dec. 20 earlier this month.

It is currently unclear how much snow may fall in the city, but current forecast models are indicating between 1-to-2 inches of snow falling in Chicago before the system clears the area later on Tuesday.

In the northern and western suburbs, localized snowfall totals may be higher than that, with 2-to-4 inches of snow possible in areas further from the lake.

South of Interstate 80, lower snowfall totals are expected, with the precipitation transitioning to rain in some locations.

Most of the accumulations will occur in grassy areas, but some less-traveled roads could potentially see snow slushy accumulation, posing some travel challenges during the morning rush hour and in the late morning.

The precipitation is expected to end across the area by Tuesday evening, but more rain and perhaps some freezing rain possible on Wednesday.  

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