The weather service is warning that there is a potential for accumulating snow that could impact post-Thanksgiving travel this weekend in the Chicagoland area.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said Monday morning that there is a potential for accumulating snow-related travel impacts on Saturday.
The forecast already shows a 60% chance of snow for Saturday but it is too early to narrow down specific details with the system, the NWS said.
The NWS said the snowfall could be “noteworthy” and result in snow-covered roads into Saturday evening.
The Thanksgiving week forecast shows a switch to sharply colder temperatures and high winds late Tuesday evening into Wednesday.
Light rain or drizzle is expected Monday evening into Tuesday morning and areas of fog may result in localized poor visibility, the NWS said.
A powerful cold front will sweep across the area Tuesday evening with strong westerly winds, gusts to 45 mph, and temperatures in the 30s for the busy travel day on Wednesday.
The NWS said Thanksgiving Day is expected to be blustery and cold, with early morning wind chills of 6-15 degrees.
While it is expected to be quiet but cold on Friday, snow could develop on Friday evening.
The exact amount of snow in northern Illinois is not known but various weather models all predict over three inches of snow from Friday to Sunday.
The winter weather comes amid forecasters saying that they believe the end of November and beginning of December is favored to be a “colder, possibly active start.”
This December, in a change from other recent Decembers, appears to be headed toward a colder start to meteorological winter 2025-2026, the NWS said.