Community Corner

Hearing That 6 to 8 Inches of Snow is Coming Today? Looks Like Elmhurst Will be Spared the Worst of it

February began with unseasonably warm weather, and it looks like the trend will continue as the remaining days of winter melt away.

The weatherman is calling for snow today, Friday. So what? After all, it is February. The forecast is making news because little snow has fallen this winter—Illinois’ sixth warmest on record.

State climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey says the average temperature in January for the state was 31.4 degrees. That's about 7 degrees above normal, making January the 13th warmest on record. The average temperature for December and January was 33.4 degrees. That makes it the sixth warmest December-January period since 1895.

The warm weather, of course, has meant less snow. Chicago snowfall for December and January totaled just 13.9 inches, half of the 27.3 inches that fell in December and January a year ago.

Find out what's happening in Elmhurstwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

However, the National Weather Service has issued a lake-effect snow watch for Chicago and Cook County, and is predicting 3 to 5 inches in far northeast Cook County, 4 to 7 inches across downtown Chicago and the south suburbs and 5 to 8 inches from the far southeast side of Chicago east into Indiana. It is expected to begin falling Friday afternoon and continue into Saturday.

For DuPage County, Friday’s weather is expected to be mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of light snow showers during the day, and 30 percent chance of light snow showers later at night.

Find out what's happening in Elmhurstwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

AccuWeather.com is predicting that the weather will turn colder during the snowfall, making the drive home Friday slippery as wet areas turn slushy and slushy areas freeze. Be sure to check our real-time traffic map to see how the roads are faring. The weather service also says visibility may get very low for a few hours in areas of snow and blowing snow, perhaps resulting in flight delays.

Friday’s snowfall may just be a blip on the radar. Warm temperatures are expected to return next week and maybe even continue for the rest of the winter, according to AccuWeather.com. And, the National Weather Service is forecasting above-normal temperatures for the rest of the month in Illinois.


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