Winter weather advisory issued for Chicago area; ‘wind-whipped' snow for morning commute

Chicago, welcome to the first snow -- and it's going to be a cold one, with wind and winter weather advisories, slushy snow totals and blustery conditions.

While some parts of the Chicago area saw its first flakes of the season Wednesday night, all of Northeastern Illinois is expected to see waves of snow showers Thursday morning, with bursts of heavy, intense snow at times and up to four inches of accumulation possible. However, slushy snow totals were expected to partially melt as temperatures rise above freezing.

Chicago weather radar: Track ‘bursts' of heavy, wet snow for Thursday commute

Accompanying the snow will be wind chills in the teens and 20s, with gusts as high as 40 or 50 miles-per-hour at times. According to the National Weather Service, a wind advisory will go into effect at 10 a.m. for the entire area.

"Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects," the National Weather Service said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result."

Illinois road conditions: Slippery roads, reduced visibility expected as snow moves in

Conditions around 6 a.m. were mostly quiet, the NBC 5 Storm Team said, though wind chills were in the teens. Winter weather was expected to pick up just in time for the Thursday morning commute, as a system with heavy snow slowly crept down from Green Bay into Chicago's northern counties.

'Reduced visibility' for Thursday morning commute

Beginning at 7 a.m., a Winter Weather Advisory will take effect for Cook, Kane, Kendall, Will, McHenry, Lake, DuPage and Kenosha Counties, the NWS said, with a period of "heavy snow" expected. In Kankakee County, along with Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper Counties in Indiana, a winter weather advisory was in effect until 3 p.m.

"A burst of accumulating snowfall is expected this morning into early afternoon," the NWS said, "which will likely impact travel" for the morning commute.

According to NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman, light snow around 7 a.m. was expected to become more intense between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. During that time, bursts of "wind-whipped snow" was possible, with sharply reduced visibility and slippery travel.

Snowfall rates may approach one inch per hour, the NWS said, with most areas seeing between a total of two and four inches of slushy, accumulating snow.

'Bursts of wet snow,' 45+ mph winds expected

Through 12 p.m., "bursts" of wet snow were expected, Roman said.

Around 2 p.m., snow was expected to transition over to rain showers, Roman said, with all areas expected to see scattered rain through the evening hours. And as the snow moves out, the strong winds move in.

"Winds will increase this afternoon with gusts as high as 50 mph after the bulk of the snow falls," the NWS said in its wind advisory.

Gusty winds could reduce visibility through 8 p.m. Roman said, with most areas seeing winds between 40 and 45 mph.

'Some of the coldest air this season'

Those winds will make temperatures in the 30s and 40s feel even colder, with wind chills making the air feel like the teens or 20s.

"Some of the coldest air this season," Roman said. "When you factor in the wind, it will feel a lot colder. Just a raw day expected."

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As the snow and rain moves out, the Chicago area will see a mostly dry and warmer weekend, Roman said, with temperatures in the 50s. By next week though, temperatures will dip back down in the 30s, with another chance for flurries on Thanksgiving, Roman said.