Snow potential for Friday increases!

A Winter Storm Watch has just been issued for Green, Rock and Walworth counties in southern Wisconsin beginning Friday afternoon.

Low pressure tracking out of the Plains today will rapidly intensify as it moves northeast out of Missouri and just to the south of Chicago by Friday afternoon.  This type of track is a classic one for heavy snow potential across southern Wisconsin where accumulations could top six inches.  Warmer temperatures initially will allow for rain or a mix of rain/snow to fall across southeast Wisconsin and points south early Friday.  But, because the low will intensify rapidly as it moves into the lower Great Lakes it will have enough strength to pull down colder air across Wisconsin and possibly into northwest Illinois by late afternoon Friday.  The track of this low has shifted a little further south with the recent morning model runs than the evening runs.  The potential is there for this accumulating snow to dip even further south across northern Illinois.  We'll continue to analyze the data as we receive it today and have another update for you later this afternoon.