A winter storm watch has been moved up for most northern Illinois counties to 9 a.m. Thursday through 6 a.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service, with more details coming into focus while the storm approaches.
The winter storm watch starts at 9 a.m. Thursday for Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Ogle, Lee, DeKalb, Kane, La Salle, Kendall, Grundy and Livingston counties.
For DuPage, Cook, Lake and Will counties, the winter storm watch begins at noon.
Falling and blowing snow may result in whiteout conditions at times, making travel extremely difficult, if not impossible, according to the National Weather Service. Power outages are also a possibility with wind gusts exceeding 55 miles per hour during the height of the storm.
The watch extends from the Wisconsin border through the Chicago suburbs, as far south as Ford County and as far west as Lee County, including the entirety of northeastern Illinois.
Here is the updated timing for the storm:
Thursday
Snow begins to fall early Thursday morning. There are increasing chances of an initial accumulating snow into early Thursday afternoon, according to forecasters.
Road conditions will rapidly deteriorate from west to east on Thursday afternoon, before the afternoon work commute, as the snowfall increases, temperatures drop and winds increase.
Thursday night into Friday night
Dangerous blizzard-like conditions are most likely to occur during this time, with blowing snow throughout the entire area severely affecting travel, according to the weather service.
Strong winds may cause power outages due to falling tree limbs.
Temperatures will continue to plummet, with wind chills approaching 20 below zero. Wind chills of this magnitude can cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
Saturday – Christmas Eve
The snow will likely be done, but the wind will not. There will be widespread blowing snow across the area, making Christmas Eve travel difficult throughout the day, if not impossible during the morning.
Temperatures will continue to be in the single digits, with the wind chill below zero.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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