Some Chicago-area counties are under a winter weather advisory Friday morning as snow threatened the morning commute, with a few inches of accumulation expected.
Kankakee County in Illinois, as well as Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties in northwest Indiana remained under an advisory until 9 a.m.
The system was expected to leave behind slipper road conditions through the morning commute. conditions will impact the early morning commute.
Snow fell overnight and into the morning hours, heavy at times with hourly rates of up to one inch per hour, according to the National Weather Service.
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"This will lead to snow covered roads and hazardous travel conditions," the alert warns. "Additional snowfall accumulations of up to two to three inches expected."
Light snow began falling across the Chicago area Thursday night.
According to forecast models, the area south of Interstate 80 will likely see the highest accumulations, with two inches of snow possible. Higher accumulations could occur in some spots, especially further south in Kankakee County and in northwest Indiana, according to forecasters.
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North of Interstate 80, significant accumulations aren’t expected, with areas ranging from a dusting of snow to potentially an inch or two by Friday morning.
Even still, the National Weather Service says that minor accumulations could occur on paved surfaces, which could cause slippery conditions that will require caution from motorists.
In the city of Chicago, the Department of Streets and Sanitation has activated a Phase II snow program, with more than 200 salt spreaders hitting arterial roads and DuSable Lake Shore Drive to help combat slippery conditions.
The next threat that will approach the Chicago area will come on Friday night and into Saturday, with cold temperatures gripping the region as a late-season Arctic air mass is set to make its presence felt in a big way.
Wind chills could drop below zero on Saturday morning, with high temperatures only expected to reach into the mid-20s across the area.
That Arctic air mass will be short-lived, however, with highs racing back into the 50s on Sunday. That will come with some windy conditions, but the warmer weather looks like it will stick around for several days, with highs climbing into the 60s by the middle of the new work week.
