Snowy and Slick Start to Thursday

The Stateline woke up to a little taste of winter on this Thursday morning as the first part of this event moved in. Light snow became more widespread overnight and continued into this morning leading to light accumulations. So far, most of the region has ended up in the 1" to 2" range with Freeport right now holding the top spot with 2". Here at the Chicago-Rockford International Airport, the last measurement came in at 1.1". Now, road temperatures were still very cold from the cold snap we experienced earlier in the week. So, it didn't take much for the light snow to stick to the roadways.  

Travel conditions this morning quickly deteriorated as snow continued to accumulate leading to slick and snow-covered roads. The graphic to the left provides an updated look on how road conditions are as of 10:30 AM. A few counties at the moment including Walworth, Boone, McHenry, and Lee county still remain partially covered in snow. The rest of the viewing area is reporting roads being mostly covered. If you are one who is about to leave the household, be sure to give yourself more time to get to your destination. Also, reduce your traveling speed while driving and allow plenty of distance between yourself and other vehicles.

This morning, we saw activity become more scattered as the first of two rounds of snowy weather slowly comes to an end for the Stateline. Scattered snow showers are likely to continue to fly through the air into the afternoon, but the majority of this is going to be light. Temps this afternoon will climb above freezing, generally in the low to mid 30s, which is just slightly above average for the end of January. Temperatures this warm will likely lead to roads being wet this afternoon. Another round of more steady snow develops overnight Thursday into Friday. Accumulations look to remain on the lighter side, but we could tackle on another inch or two by tomorrow morning. As we saw earlier today, it doesn't take much snowfall accumulation to make the roads slick and even snow-covered. This will is likely to lead to another slick morning commute for tomorrow.

Temperatures will once again jump into the mid 30s by Friday afternoon. This will lead to some rain occasionally mixing in, but overall this second part looks to be a mostly snow system. Friday evening and into the overnight, steady and potentially heavier bursts of snow looks to develop. Additional accumulations of 1" to 3" can be expected heading into Saturday morning. The one component of this forecast to watch for is how far south will the low's center be from the area, and how much "warm" air does this low pull up. Model Guidance does show the 32° ending up pretty close to the Stateline Friday afternoon into Friday night. That remains the uncertainty on how much we will actually end up heading into the weekend. If we experience more rain mixing in, this will lead to lower accumulations. Models for the moment show our viewing area under light to moderate snow bands into Saturday morning. Something we will have to continue to monitor through the next 24 to 36 hours!