Season's third significant snow to impact evening rush hour
By Chicago’s standards, today’s snowstorm is hardly a blockbuster, but it’s surely enough to please the children and simultaneously chill the hearts of area automobile commuters. Snow is likely to begin about mid-morning, thereby sparing the early morning commute, but three to seven inches of snow will blanket the area by mid afternoon and that promises a messy evening rush hour.
Falling with temperatures near freezing, the snow will have a rather high water content and constitute what is colloquially known as “wet snow.” Snow shovelers take note.
This storm system has had a history of moderate snow production. As of Thursday evening, areas east of Denver reported seven to eight inches.
Looking ahead, genuinely cold air is poised to descend on the city on New Year’s Day, bringing official sub-zero temperatures for the first time since February.
--By Richard Koeneman, WGN Weather Center Meteorologist