February had a lot of snow and a lot of cold temperatures, and we will see more of the same in the coming days, as several clocks and warnings were issued before a snow event that can drop between 4 and 8 inches of snow in some locations until Tuesday.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm alert for all of Cook County in Illinois and Lake County in Indiana. This alert will remain in effect until Tuesday morning, with 4 to 8 inches of snow as possible in the area, with locally strongest snow totals possible for cities near Lake Michigan.
A series of snow showers are expected in the area starting on Sunday night and continuing until Tuesday morning, with lake effect showers also reaching the immediate area of Chicago and parts of northwest Indiana.
A winter weather warning was also issued in Kankakee and eastern Will County, Illinois, along with Porter, Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana. This will go into effect at 6 pm and will last until 3 am on Tuesday, according to the NWS.
In these areas, anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of snow is possible, with counties in Indiana potentially seeing larger quantities.
All of that snow will hit an area that is still terribly cold on Sunday, with chills dropping to 30 degrees below zero in some places. Things are not expected to improve much further, with single-digit highs and chills still well below zero across the region.
A thermal sensation alert remains in effect until noon in most of northeastern Illinois, with a thermal sensation warning taking effect after noon in Illinois and Indiana.
Fortunately for residents, there is potential relief on the horizon. During the week, temperatures are expected to rise slowly and, next weekend, highs in the 30’s are once again in the forecast, indicating that the long cold period that has taken over the region may be coming to an end.