Heavy snow is no stranger to Chicago in January. The most recent one-footer was less than three years ago, Jan. 30-31, 2002. This storm has good credentials: it’s dripping with moisture and has the punch for a major storm. However, all storm elements don’t quite gather at the same time, so the surface low development and cold air fail to phase completely, and much of the storm’s moisture is spent on freezing rain or rain south of Kankakee. Nonetheless, longevity compensates, and the resulting long duration snow at Chicago may top 8 inches, with the peak of the storm late Wednesday.
This time of year, a major storm normally pulls down a mountain of frigid air from Canada, but that air is missing since the jet stream in days to come has origins in the southwest U.S. By early next week, temperatures rebound into the snow-melting 40s.
