Copyright NBC 5 Chicago
Most of the Chicago area got its first significant snowfall in the last few days, but what does the forecast hold for the days to come? For parts of northwest Indiana, snow is expected to persist into the late afternoon or even in the early evening, with lake-effect snow bands slowly diminishing and travel conditions slowly improving, according to forecast models. A big plume of lake-effect snow pushed down the Illinois-Indiana border Monday morning, dumping a foot of snow in eastern Kankakee County and causing significant accumulations in parts of northwest Indiana. A second band of snow then rotated through the city of Chicago and swept toward the south and east, impacting areas of northwest Indiana along Lake Michigan, and that will continue to do so for a few more hours, according to forecast models. Outside of that snow, partly-to-mostly sunny skies are expected in the area through the late afternoon, and the evening will continue to be chilly, with lows dipping into the 20s and wind chills potentially dropping into the teens across the area overnight. Clouds will also start to build back into the Chicago area early Tuesday morning, and another passing system will bring a chance of more snow showers during the morning rush hour, according to the NBC 5 Storm Team. Those snow showers will be a lot lighter than what impacted the area on Monday, with a dusting of snow possible before it shifts off into the east. Temperatures will remain on the chilly side Tuesday, with highs in the 30s, but a warming trend is expected to begin in earnest on Wednesday afternoon, when readings jump into the upper-40s or even the low-50s across the area. Those warmer conditions, accompanied by partly-to-mostly sunny skies, will continue through the end of the week, culminating in readings in the low-60s by Saturday across the region. Sunday could see a chance of showers, with highs right around 60 degrees, and then temperatures will dip back toward more seasonable levels early next week, with readings in the 50s expected.
