More snow on the way; icy roads possible – NBC Chicago

The Chicago area Wednesday was waking up to an icy cold morning, with another day of morning wind chills below zero thanks to an Arctic blast that gripped the region earlier in the week.

The cold temperatures — with wind chills as low as -30 in some parts — led to more than 100 schools closed, frozen pipes, iced-over sidewalks and ice jam warnings across the city and suburbs.

Some Chicago-area schools Wednesday were also on e-learning schedules or had delayed starts due to the lingering cold and ice.

George Mycyck

But there’s some good news, NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman said: After two days of extreme cold warnings and cold weather advisories across Northeastern Illinois — featuring temperatures in the single digits and wind chill values as low as -30 — highs Wednesday will be in the 20s, with “feels-like” temperatures in the teens.

How long to warm up your car in the extreme cold? It’s different than you may think

“Finally back into the 20s,” Roman said early Wednesday morning. “Still below average, but definitely warmer.”

Roman noted the cold weather advisories and extreme cold warnings had shifted to the southern part of the U.S., including parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, where winter storms were bringing as much as 11 inches of snow.

“Some parts of the south have seen more snow than Chicago has seen all season long,” Roman said.

Temperatures through the end of the week in the Chicago area were expected to remain in the 20s, Roman said, rebounding over the weekend and late next week.

“Most of next week will stay above the average of 31 degrees, and stay above freezing,” Roman said.

Snow on the way; accumulation possible

As temperatures warm slightly Wednesday, snow was expected to move in, Roman said, with snowfall beginning around 8 a.m. in the Chicago area.

The snow will start north of I-80 around that time, the National Weather Service said, with widespread snow showers expected to continue on-and-off through Wednesday afternoon and evening.

“There may be a lull in the afternoon, but snow chances return tonight,” the NWS said.

Accumulations of between one and one-and-a-half inches of snow were possible, Roman said, before snow gradually comes to an end Wednesday night.

While snow totals may be light, “very cold ground temperatures will lead to slippery travel on untreated roadways,” the NWS warned.

According to Roman, lake effect snow in Porter County in Northwest Indiana was possible Thursday.