Weather Alert For Chicago: Winter Storm Watch Ahead Of Christmas

(CTN News) – As dangerous Weather Alert conditions are expected to arrive ahead of Christmas, it is time to prepare.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch from 9 a.m. on Thursday until 6 a.m. on Saturday for the counties of DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, LaSalle, and McHenry; from noon on Thursday until 6 a.m.

on Saturday for Cook, DuPage, Kankakee, Lake, and Will counties; and from 3 p.m. on Thursday until 6 a.m. on Saturday for Lake, Porter, Jasper, and Newton counties in northwest Indiana.

Winter Storm Warnings or Blizzard Warnings are expected to be issued as the storm approaches, as they are expected to be upgraded to Winter Storm Warnings.

It will be a warm day before Tuesday’s storm, with temperatures in the 30s before some Weather afternoon sunshine is expected. Wednesday is expected to be a mild day with temperatures around 29 degrees.

It is expected that the brunt of the storm will hit Thursday night into Friday morning. There were gusts of more than 55 miles per hour in this area, which could lead to blown trees and possible power outages.

As a result of the difference in time between when the snow is expected to fall the heaviest, and when the strongest winds are expected to blow, blizzard conditions are still possible, though less likely than originally forecast due to the difference in time between snowfall arrival and strongest winds.

There is still a possibility that Chicago may get significant snow totals, with the latest forecasts predicting anywhere between seven and ten inches of snow. Within the next couple of days, those expected totals are likely to change a little bit.

In northwest Indiana, residents downwind of the Weather storm along Lake Michigan could see very impressive amounts of lake effect snow that will add to the surface of the lake.

In the early hours of Saturday, the snow will start to taper off.

In the evening of Thursday, there is expected to be a big drop in Weather temperature. Temperatures will likely fall to single digits by Friday, with wind chills that are well below zero in the morning.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are expected to have wind chills well below zero, possibly as low as 25 below zero on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

SEE ALSO:

A 6.4 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Parts Of Northern California

Fire Damaged a Condominium Unit in Bangkok’s Klong San district