Friday morning commuters were met with wet, wintry conditions, with some areas seeing snow accumulating already, but warmer temperatures will keep roadways from icing over with drier weather still to come this weekend, according to the National Weather Service Chicago.
“Anyone traveling the next few hours through about noon, 1 (o’clock) up north near I-90, take it slower on the roads because I’m sure it’s a bit slippery up there,” said Jake Peter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Chicago.
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Snow continues this AM generally along & N of I-90 where roads have become at least partially snow covered! A mix of rain/snow is occurring between there & I-88 with mainly all rain south. Snow will switch over to drizzle by early afternoon & continue into the evening. #ILwx pic.twitter.com/dXvmVgib49
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) December 9, 2022
Steady rain early Friday moved into the Chicago area and switched to a mix of rain and snow at sunrise near and north of Interstate 90, Peter said. Those areas have since switched over to snow and seem some accumulation on roadways and grassy areas.
Peter said between Interstate 90 and Interstate 88, rain and snow are still mixing Friday morning, but rain is dominating south of Interstate 80 and Interstate 88.
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The bulk of the snow in the Chicago area will shift east into the early afternoon, Peter said, and light right is expected for most of the day.
But with temperatures staying above freezing for the rest of the day as well, hovering just around the mid-30s, there is little to no chance of freezing rain and roadways icing over, and much of the snow accumulation the Chicago area did see will be seen melting as the day goes on.
Northern Illinois, along the state line, has a higher chance of snow lingering, Peter said. Areas up into McHenry and Lake counties could have up to two inches of accumulation.
“Further down into the city, I think there’ll be enough melting going on to where there’s no notable accumulation,” Peter said.
High temperatures for the weekend will sit in the lower 40s and lows in the lower-to-mid 30s with Sunday looking “just a touch warmer than Saturday,” Peter said. Saturday has a chance of another round of rain and drizzly conditions in the afternoon, but Sunday’s forecast is dry.
“It’ll still be kind of cloudy though, but at least we’ll have a break from some of the rainy dreariness,” Peter said.