Winter weather advisory issued as snow and chill are expected to continue in Chicago Monday and through the week
By KATHERINE ROSENBERG-DOUGLAS
CHICAGO TRIBUNE |
FEB 08, 2021 AT 12:48 PM
Sorry, Chicago, but the winter weather is only going to get worse this week before it gets better.
Most of northern Illinois is facing an ongoing pattern of multiple snow events and single-digit air temperatures with wind chill values well below zero, said Ricky Castro, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Following a dusting of snow Monday morning and ahead of another potential 1 to 3 inches that could fall during the evening commute, he said not much will change with the cold and snowy forecast for the next week, at least, or possibly two.
“Depending on the magnitude of the cold air mass that comes in, it could possibly get colder than it has been. It was quite cold (Sunday), it’s cold now and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change much in the next week or two,” he said. “Realistically, it could certainly get even worse, depending on how things shape up this weekend.”
Forecasters Monday morning issued a winter weather advisory for a looming storm that could add another 1 to 3 inches of snow during the evening commute, Castro said.
“We’ve been forecasting snow accumulations, but we’re just a little more concerned now and decided to go ahead and issue a winter weather advisory to heighten the awareness for people that don’t work from home and will commute home later,” he said.
The amount of snow that could fall is not typically enough for the weather service to issue an advisory, “but it’s just that the timing is right for it, it’s going to be snowing still during the commute. And with how cold it is, the roads are probably going to be pretty rough.”
Castro said the typical mitigation techniques used by the city and state to keep roads clear, such as plows and salt trucks, are not as effective when the temperature is as low as it was around midday, when the city’s official weather recording station logged 11 degrees at O’Hare International Airport, 12 at Midway Airport and 13 near Lake Michigan.
Salt lowers the freezing point for water on roads below 32 degrees. But when the air temperature is near zero, salt loses its efficacy in reducing the freezing point, he said. Overnight into Tuesday, he said, the wind chill, or feels-like temperature, could get as cold as 20 below.
“At a certain point, it’s just not very useful,” Castro said about salting the roads.
He expects Monday’s system to move in from the west and to begin dropping flakes on the metro area between 2 and 6 p.m., possibly a little earlier in the western suburbs.
It will be the first of many opportunities for snow this week, Castro said. It could snow again Wednesday or Thursday, and a big snowstorm could move through the area again this weekend.
“Essentially it just keeps on coming,” Castro said. “The pattern looks cold and active, in terms of snowfall, for the foreseeable future.”
