A blizzard with heavy snow and high winds is taking shape in northwest Chicagoland Sunday night. The worst conditions in the storm will affect Arlington Heights and nearby suburbs from about 10:00 p.m. until 4:00 a.m. The intense snowfall will finish by about 5:00 a.m.
At 3:32 p.m. Sunday November 25, 2018, the National Weather Service activated a Blizzard Warning that included Cook County, DuPage County and Will County effective 6:00 p.m. Sunday until 9:00 a.m. Monday. A Blizzard Warning had already been activated at 11:27 a.m. for nearby Lake County, McHenry County, Kane County and other western and southwestern counties effective 6:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. The Lake County, McHenry County and Kane County Blizzard Warnings remain activated until 6:00 a.m. while the Cook County and Will County Blizzard Warnings are activated until 9:00 a.m. Arlington Heights in northwest Cook County is dead center in the geographic area for the Blizzard Warning zone, which is roughly three counties wide along the path of the winter storm.
Sleet and snow with large, wet flakes are in full force, but no accumulation on pavement had initiated as of 6:30 p.m. in Arlington Heights. About 1 inch of very wet sleet-like snow was on the grassy surfaces at 6:30 p.m. An inch of snow accumulated on pavement by 7:45 p.m.
Total snow depth of 10.9 inches is forecast by 11:00 a.m. with 6 inches forecast to drop by midnight Sunday/Monday. High snowfall rates will drop off by 5:00 a.m. The snow is heavy and wet.
Peak sustained winds of 28-29 MPH from the north-northwest with gusts of 40-41 MPH are forecast to occur from 10:00 p.m. until 4:00 a.m. Wind gusts of 50 MPH are possible. While winds shift to the northwest most of Monday, the wind gusts will remain above 20 MPH at least until 2:00 p.m. Monday.
At 7:00 p.m. Sunday, the Low Pressure center (between St. Louis and Decatur) was moving through southwestern Illinois with precipitation bands spinning off counterclockwise from southeast to northwest over Chicagoland. At 7:10 p.m. Sunday winds were from the southwest in St. Louis and were already from the north-northwest in Quincy, Illinois. Winds were from the southwest in Springfield (48°F), and southeast in Decatur (50°F). Winds were still from the northeast in Champaign (48°F).
Weather Radar (also nexrad.chgowx.com) showed intense precipitation over the entire region with the snow-rain line running from about Lake View, Wrigleyville, and Lincoln Park neighborhoods in Chicago to just south of Peoria, Illinois — splitting Cook County in half with snow to the north and rain to the south at 7:30 p.m.
Mendota, Illinois, about 40 miles west-southwest of Aurora, reported a dump of 2 inches of snow in 40 minutes earlier this evening.
Blizzard Warning
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Chicago IL 332 PM CST Sun Nov 25 2018
ILZ013-014-260545- /O.UPG.KLOT.WS.W.0003.181126T0000Z-181126T1500Z/ /O.EXB.KLOT.BZ.W.0001.181126T0000Z-181126T1500Z/ DuPage-Cook- Including the cities of Wheaton and Chicago 332 PM CST Sun Nov 25 2018
…BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST MONDAY…
* WHAT…Blizzard conditions expected. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph will cause whiteout conditions in blowing snow. Significant drifting of the snow is likely. Total snow accumulations of 7 to 11 inches, with localized amounts up to 13 inches, are expected.
* WHERE…DuPage and Cook Counties.
* WHEN…Until 9 AM CST Monday. Conditions ramping up between 6 PM and 9 PM this evening, first across northwest areas.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Travel could be very difficult. Snow covered roads and significantly reduced visibility are expected. Snowfall rates in excess of 2 inches per hour are possible. This snow is expected to be very heavy and will be difficult to shovel. The strong winds and heavy snow may cause falling tree limbs and possible power outages.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1.
Blizzard warning now in effect for much of northern Illinois tonight! Travel will become nearly impossible & potentially life threatening! pic.twitter.com/f2aBsLnsh8
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) November 25, 2018
7:25PM Radar Update: Rain/Heavy Snow line stretches from Starved Rock State Park through Aurora to the far north side of the city. This line will continue to slowly sag SE overnight.
Also of note, more #Thundersnow near Mendota. #ILwx pic.twitter.com/XR9hZ0kH9f
— Mike Hamernik (@MikeHamernik) November 26, 2018
Mike Dalton shared took video of thundersnow in Mendota, IL around 6 pm this evening. Also, an off duty @NWSChicago forecaster reported that 2" snow fell in Mendota in just 40 minutes! More thundersnow is possible this evening across N IL, snowfall rates of 2-4"/hour possible! pic.twitter.com/V6sNE1m7Pw
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) November 26, 2018
Heavy snow and blizzard conditions spreading across northern Illinois into the Chicago Metro area tonight https://t.co/R5S7l8Pwz8
— Skilling (@Skilling) November 26, 2018
Who is hearing #thundersnow ?! #ilwx pic.twitter.com/76f2lG1Nxo
— Cheryl Scott (@CherylScottWX) November 26, 2018
O’HARE FORECAST …
Lakeshore Flood Warning
Blizzard Warning
Tonight: Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Areas of blowing snow after 10pm. Steady temperature around 32. Windy, with a north wind 25 to 30 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 9 to 13 inches possible.
Monday: Snow likely, mainly before 9am. Patchy blowing snow before 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 27 by 5pm. Blustery, with a west northwest wind 20 to 25 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 14. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 23. West northwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 12. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 25.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18.
Thursday: A chance of snow, mainly before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 33.
Thursday Night: A chance of snow, mainly before midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 29.
Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38.
Friday Night: A slight chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31.
Saturday: Rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 41.
Saturday Night: Rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 35.
Sunday: A slight chance of rain and snow. Cloudy, with a high near 40.
november.chicagoweatherstation.com
Chicago Weather Forecast for your MAC/PC/TABLET includes surrounding suburbs.
^^ MOBILE? USE VOICE MIC ^^
facebook …
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/ArlingtonCardinal
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/ArlingtonHeightsCrime
Get updates from The Cardinal ALL NEWS FEEDS on Facebook. Just ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Page (become a fan of our page). The updates cover all posts and sub-category posts from The Cardinal — Arlingtoncardinal.com. You can also limit feeds to specific categories. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor
20240105-1435future