Chicago Could See Its First Snow Of The Season This Weekend

By Stephen Gossett in News on Nov 15, 2016 6:28PM

Getty Images / Photo: Brian Kersey

When we spoke with Streets and Sanitation, late last month, spokesperson Jennifer Martinez said their models led the agency to expect a first snow around mid-November—and it’s shaping up to be a spot-on prediction: Chicago could see its first snow of the season this weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

While early signs point to an “extended winter,” with “numbing cold” and “snowy” conditions overall, it looks like the first cut won’t be the deepest. This weekend’s expected snowfall will only be trace, meaning it won’t be nearly heavy enough to accumulate, the NWS said. However, the Chicago area will see temperatures plunge, between 20 and 30 degrees between Friday night and Saturday morning, right around the time precipitation is expected, including those trace-amount snow showers.

So enjoy the unseasonable warmth, because the seasonable cold is in the mail, along with the small snow.

Some of our neighbors, however, won’t get the benefit of such a modest transition. The Trib notes, “The weekend is expected to be more bracing to the west and north. Heavy snow is expected to accumulate across the Dakotas, Nebraska and Minnesota.”

Chicago Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Charles Williams said in October that the department is preparing for between 45 and 47 inches of snowfall this winter. Long-term forecasts from Accuweather predicted “brutally cold air” for the region; and National Weather Service models forecast a 33 percent chance of above-average precipitation and colder-than-average temps.

[H/T Tribune]