Saturday’s sunny weather masks the approach of accumulating late-season snow, expected to reach the area Sunday and fall steadily for 6 to 10 hours. As much as 2-4” could fall, though above-freezing pre-storm temperatures Saturday may complicate the accumulation picture by elevating ground and pavement temperatures. The system behind the potential for a late-weekend snow here generated 8-18” totals in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains Friday—only days after peaks there were smothered by 4 foot accumulations.
It hasn’t snowed measurably in Chicago since Feb. 11—more than three weeks ago. The area, still in the midst of a year-long drought, has gone 16 days without measurable precipitation—the longest stretch since a 17-day run extending from last Aug. 21 to Sept. 6.
If 2.6” or more snow falls here Sunday, it would exceed February’s total snowfall to date (2.5”).
--Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
