As Illinoisans return to the office after the holiday season, their Monday blues might be further magnified by lake-effect snow on the tail end of a major, disruptive snowstorm that slammed the central United States and by below-normal temperatures later in the week.
According to the National Weather Service, travel will be affected the most in northeastern Illinois as snow blows in Sunday night through noon Monday. Accumulations might reach 3 to 5 inches across portions of Lake County — perhaps even higher near the Wisconsin state line. As the snow band moves south toward Chicago from noon to 6 p.m., it could drop 1 to 3 inches.
“We’re expecting that lake-effect snow band to sort of steadily march from northwest to southeast across the city,” said Lee Carlow, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Chicago. “It’s not going to be snowing steadily across all of the city, all at the same time. This is the nature of the lake-effect bands — they actually weaken a little bit through the day.”
The band will then slowly approach northwest Indiana and dissipate early on Tuesday morning.
So-called lake-effect snowfall happens when cold, dry air from the north moves across relatively warmer open water where it picks up moisture and heat. As the planet has warmed, so have the Great Lakes — Lake Michigan recently had its warmest November in 30 years. These higher water temperatures and a reduced ice cover enhance evaporation from the lake, increasing its snow effect.
Across the central United States, snow and ice blanketed major roadways Sunday in nearly all of Kansas, western Nebraska and parts of Indiana, where the state’s National Guard was activated to help any motorists who were stuck, according to The Associated Press. At least 8 inches of snow was expected north of Interstate 70 as the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Kansas and Missouri, where blizzard conditions brought wind gusts of up to 45 mph. The storm was forecast to move into the Ohio Valley and reach the Mid-Atlantic states later Sunday and into Monday, with a hard freeze expected as far south as Florida.
Illinois was bypassed by the worst parts of the storm, but winter weather advisories were issued Sunday evening for Iroquois and Ford counties, and another advisory was issued for Lake County all day Monday. These are announced by the National Weather Service when a low-pressure system produces a combination of winter weather that presents a hazard but does not meet warning criteria.
“Generally speaking, the advisories are reserved for kind of 2 to 4, 3 to 5-inch type snowfall events, the expectation being that it’s going to cause potentially significant disruption to travel over relatively short time spans,” Carlow said.
Meteorologists suggest allowing for extra travel time, driving slowly and increasing the following distance between vehicles in the Monday morning and evening commutes during which hazardous road conditions will include reduced visibility and slippery roads. But these may vary across short distances, especially in the Chicago area, as lake-effect snow bands can be around 10 miles wide.
“It might be snowing pretty steadily on the North Side, and perhaps nothing’s going on or very little is going on in the central and southern portions of the city,” Carlow said. “They’re obviously pretty tricky scenarios to forecast.”
Colder weather is expected to remain throughout the week, with temperatures below normal: Lows will be between the single digits and teens, and highs will be in the 20s. The average high for this time of year is in the low 30s, and the lows are normally in the high teens or low 20s. There is also potential for another snow system at the end of the workweek.
“Wednesday night and Thursday, we’ve got lows in the single digits — that’s going to be markedly below normal,” Carlow said. “Nothing unheard of, though. We do see this essentially every single year, but yes, definitely below normal for the time of the year.”
The Chicago Department of Family and Support Services opens warming areas at six community service centers and a network of almost 200 public facilities when temperatures are 32 degrees or below. Anyone seeking a warm place to go after hours or who needs emergency overnight shelter can also call 311.
Warming centers will be available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the following locations: Englewood Community Service Center at 1140 W. 79th St., Garfield Community Service Center at 10 S. Kedzie Ave., Dr. Martin Luther King Community Service Center at 4314 S. Cottage Grove, North Area Community Service Center at 845 W. Wilson Ave., South Chicago Community Service Center at 8650 S. Commercial Ave., and Trina Davila Community Service Center at 4312 W. North Ave.
Senior citizens can also visit one of 21 senior centers across the city, which are open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. People can also find warmth in Chicago Public Library locations, Park District locations, police districts and City Colleges of Chicago during business or designated hours.
City Homeless Outreach and Prevention teams and street outreach partners work to connect homeless individuals with warming options, shelter and well-being checks. The Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications encourages residents to check on relatives, neighbors and friends during especially cold, snowy days.
