Midday Thursday’s rain-snow mix ends as all snow as winds turn north and cold air pours in from Canada during the evening hours. Final totals in Chicago should range from 6 in. north to 1 in. south, with around 3 in of wet snow in Chicago proper. An average of eight computer models yields 0.54" of total precipitation at Chicago—about 4" using a wet 8:1 snow/water ration.
In the wake of the storm, a monstrous cell of high pressure breaks loose from far north in the Arctic and drifts slowly southward. With the northeastern quarter of the hemisphere locked into an especially cold pattern, this frigid high pressure does not moderate much with time, which holds temperatures only in the 30 most days, 10° or more below normal. Instead, another round of reinforcing cold air from the Arctic arrives behind the next snow system slated to affect Chicago next Tuesday.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
