Wintry mix, freezing rain brings early-week travel impacts

I'm sure a lot of you are saying the same thing I am which is "FINALLY, we are done with the Arctic air". For the time being, this is true as all signs point to much warmer temperatures moving forward. At the same time, old man winter isn't finished playing games with the Stateline just yet.

Two waves of precipitation will be marching through to kick off the work week. Both of which will bring the likelihood for us to see all types of precipitation, including freezing drizzle/rain. 

For the first wave, all of our N. Illinois counties with the exception of Jo-Daviess County will be under a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY until noon today. This is to take into account the likelihood for impacts to the morning commute in the form of icy spots, mainly on untreated and elevated surfaces. 

The second arrives this evening, lasting into the first half of Tuesday. For this, N. Illinois will be placed under a second WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY from midnight - noon Tuesday. 

This round will have a significantly higher shot at encountering freezing rain, mainly from late this evening into early Tuesday morning. In between both rounds will be a lull in precipitation, maybe patchy freezing drizzle from time to time.

Accumulations before the changeover to a wintry mix will range from a glaze to 0.10" across much of N. Illinois and S. Wisconsin. Higher ice accumulations up to 0.25" can be expected south and east of I-88. This is enough for windshields to become coated, bridges to become slick, and a light coating of ice will to be possible on trees. 

 

Once ice accumulations get over the 0.25" mark, trees will sag or even break, roads will be icy, and even sporadic power outages will be possible. 

Precipitation remains in the form of a wintry mix into mid-morning Tuesday, with chances decreasing into the afternoon. Highest impacts will be felt during the morning commute, so plan on extra, extra time and take it slow while traveling.