The National Weather Service is urging Illinois residents to exercise extreme caution while traveling Monday night, as the service says that the winter storm pounding the region is “peaking in intensity” in the late evening hours.
The storm, which has already dumped nine inches of snow on some portions of the area, will hang around the area through Tuesday morning, with warnings still in effect through the overnight hours.
In DuPage, Kendall, Grundy, Will and Kankakee counties in Illinois, along with Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana, the winter storm warning remains in effect until 9 a.m. Tuesday. In Lake and Cook counties in Illinois, the warning will remain in effect until noon.
Lake and Cook counties are expected to take on the brunt of the storm, with lake-effect snow contributing to locally higher snowfall totals. According to the National Weather Service, an additional 6-to-12 inches of snow are possible before the storm moves out of the area, with the highest totals expected within five-to-ten miles of Lake Michigan.
Already at Chicago’s Midway Airport, nine inches of snow have fallen, and other areas have reported anywhere from 5-to-7 inches of snow so far.
Outside of those two counties, snow is expected to intensify in the late evening hours, with blustery winds causing low visibility on roadways through the morning commute Tuesday.
Local
Additional snowfall totals of 3-to-7 inches are expected, with the highest accumulations along and east of Interstate 57.
In McHenry and DeKalb counties, a winter weather advisory will remain in effect until 9 a.m. Tuesday, with 2-to-4 inches of additional snow expected in those locations.
