A winter storm warning and a winter weather advisory will both take effect Friday afternoon across the Chicago area, with snow, mixed precipitation and rain threatening to snarl the evening commute.
A winter storm warning has been issued for parts of the Chicago area on Friday, with snow accumulations of six or more inches and gusty winds possible in some locations.
According to the National Weather Service, that warning will take effect at noon in eastern Will County and Kankakee County in Illinois, as well as Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton and Jasper counties in northwest Indiana.
That warning will remain in effect until 10 p.m. Friday.
A winter weather advisory has also been issued for DuPage, Kendall, and Grundy counties, as well as central and southern Cook County and northern and southern Will County, according to officials. That will also go into effect at noon.
Heavy, wet snow is expected to arrive in the Chicago area during the afternoon hours, with some of the hardest-hit areas seeing accumulations of 1-to-3 inches of snow per hour during the height of the storm.
Anywhere from 4-to-8 inches of snow could fall in the areas under the warning, with locally-higher totals possible.
In addition to the snow, wind gusts in excess of 40 miles per hour could help to make traffic even more difficult, with power outages also possible as a result of the wintry weather.
Local
Areas further to the north could potentially see 1-to-4 inches of snow, along with gusty winds.
The storm's exact track could change in the hours leading up to the storm's arrival, with rain also possible before precipitation switches to snow during the afternoon.
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Stay tuned to the NBC 5 Storm Team for the latest updates.
