The Chicago-area forecast called for a rainy and foggy day Monday, with waves of showers and mild temperatures before the possibility of the season's first snowflakes later in the week.
Monday started out with a dense fog advisory for areas to the north, including Lake, McHenry, DeKalb and Kane Counties in Illinois, along with Northern LaPorte County in Indiana, and Kenosha County in Wisconsin, the National Weather Service said.
Visibility in those parts was a quarter mile or less, the NWS said.
"Plan on slow travel for the Mon AM commute and use caution while driving," the NWS added in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Fog is quickly developing this evening as skies clear. There is a growing concern for dense fog across far northern and northwest IL tonight, but patchy fog could stretch as far south as I-80. Plan on slowed travel for the Mon AM commute and use caution when driving. #ILwx #INwx pic.twitter.com/biDEYQDrPM
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) November 18, 2024
According to the NWS, the advisory was set to end at 7 a.m.
Around 8 a.m., sprinkles were set to start moving in, NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman said. By around 12 p.m., more widespread rain was expected, with showers expected to last through the afternoon and into the evening, Roman added.
Local
"Some pockets of moderate rain at times this afternoon and evening," Roman said.
Between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., a break in the rain could occur, Roman said, though more showers were expected to move in late Monday and overnight, with wet weather lasting through mid-morning Tuesday.
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Accompanying the rain will be above-average temperatures, Roman said.
According to Roman, Monday's high temperature was expected to hit 58 degrees. That's about nine degrees above the average high temperature for this time of year, Roman said.
Tuesday, temperatures were expected to be even warmer, with highs in the low 60s. According to Roman, the warmest part of the day will be in the morning, before temperatures gradually fall.
After that, colder air moves in, Roman said -- along with the chance for the first snow of the season.
More rain was expected to develop Wednesday into Thursday, Roman said, accompanied by colder temperatures.
"This system has a colder component to it," Roman said.
By late Wednesday into Thursday, a rain and snow mix could form, Roman said. High temperatures later Thursday were expected to hit 42 degrees.
"We'll just have to watch the Thursday morning commute," Roman said," because just a little bit of snow -- even just one tenth of an inch -- could cause trouble for you."
When does Chicago typically see its first snow?
The Chicago area typically sees its first trace of snow Oct. 31, Roman said. The area's first measurable snow -- 0.1 of an inch or more — usually comes Nov. 18, Roman said, and the area's first average snow of one inch or more typically occurs Dec. 7.
