Accumulating snow likely across northern Illinois, blizzard conditions possible

Last night's round of light snow is coming to an end prior to the morning commute. 

Despite minor accumulations, It may be wise to leave a few minutes ahead of schedule as it may have been enough for a few slick spots to form. 

High pressure settling in aloft will keep the rest of our Thursday dry. Under mostly cloudy skies, highs will end up seasonable in the upper 20s.

Earlier this morning, the National Weather Service in Quad Cities has placed Jo-Daviess, Stephenson, Carroll, and Whiteside County under a WINTER STORM WARNING. This is set to run from 9PM this evening until mid-day Saturday. 

The rest of the area remains under a WINTER STORM WATCH until further notice. 

Snow should arrive during the pre-dawn hours Friday morning, becoming heavy at times. Snowfall rates could be as high as 1"/hr. 

However, the snow that kicks off the tomorrow's event will be a heavy, wet snow, meaning it will take some time for it to accumulate. This is why impacts won't be as significant for those heading out for Friday morning commute. 

Snowfall rates pick back up by mid-day Friday. Once this occurs, we can expect several hours of heavy snow and strong winds, with some gusts potentially reaching 50 mph. This is the time frame in which the worst impacts are set to occur. 

As snow transitions to a drier, fluffier snow, blowing and drifting snow as well as near-zero visibility will become a major concern by Friday evening. In other words, blizzard conditions are possible. 

The snow will progressively become more fluffier into the early stages of Saturday as arctic air continues to wrap around this powerful system. Snow is then shown fully tapering off sometime before mid-morning. However, impacts remain high thanks to the continued threat for blowing and drifting snow.

Please take today to get any pre-storm errands done. If you have any travel plans, especially Friday afternoon into Saturday morning, do your best to adjust them. After this storm system departs, we take a nice long trip to the arctic as temperatures plummet. Highs Sunday through Tuesday are only slated to reach the single digits, with overnight lows dropping well below zero.