Jan. 06--As wind chills moderated to closer to zero degrees this afternoon following lows around 30 below zero at dawn, the first traces of what could be as much as 7 inches of snow were falling in Galesburg and Peoria. And the week is just beginning.
Temperatures could get as low as 14 below by Wednesday night with daytime highs struggling to reach the double digits all week. Wind chills will be dangerous through the weekend.
"It looks to be pretty, pretty darn cold here, even for Chicago," said National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Birk.
As Monday dawned, wind chills as low as 32 below were recorded in Harvard, 23 below in Crystal Lake and 22 below in McHenry. Real temperatures as low as 11 below zero were recorded in McHenry County. Temperatures at O'Hare International Airport finally climbed above zero around noon.
A winter weather advisory went into effect Monday evening and lasts through Tuesday morning.
The snow was expected to hit the Chicago area sometime after 6 p.m. Monday, at times coming down about an inch or two per hour. Accumulation will range from 2 to 5 inches across the Chicago area, with higher accumulations possible in some areas southwest of the city.
The relatively brief burst of snow will be brought by an Alberta clipper low-pressure storm system, according to the weather service. The system, which typically forms in Canada's Alberta province, will be followed by more blasts of Artic air Tuesday and Wednesday.
Temperatures are expected to rise -- slightly -- by the weekend.
Sunday's high could reach into the middle 20s, according to the weather service. Forecasts beyond the weekend are variable, but Birk said the area will probably see more blasts of cold air at some point, based on larger-scale weather patterns.
Monday's winter weather comes after the metropolitan area already saw from 2 to 3 inches of snow Sunday. As of Sunday evening, 2.2 inches had fallen at O'Hare International Airport since midnight, according to the National Weather Service.
Sunday's weather caused disruptions for air travel. O'Hare International Airport and Midway Airport reported delays, and 235 flights out of O'Hare had been canceled as of 8:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.
Disruptions continued Monday, with nearly 100 cancellations at O'Hare and about 630 delays.
Metra reported delays on many of its lines early in the morning, including the Union Pacific Northwest, Milwaukee District, Burlington Northern Sante Fe, Rock Island and Metra Electric.
No schools in the Chicago area were closed for the weather Monday, according to emergencyclosingcenter.com.
The weather service urged people to stay indoors if possible and to bundle up when going outside. The combination of such low temperatures and high winds means the wind chill could cause frostbite to exposed skin in just minutes, Birk said.
