Spring snow headed to parts of northern Illinois this weekend

A swing in temperatures has gripped northern Illinois this week, and while Friday brought with it welcomed sun, more rain and a chance of spring snow could be on the way this weekend.

According to the National Weather Service, Saturday’s high is expected to be about 30 degrees, with a mix of rain and snow expected before 4 p.m. Snow accumulation won’t exceed 1 inch, however, the weather service predicted. Sunday will offer some sun and temperatures close to 50, with rain setting in Sunday night into Monday.

“We have gotten into an active pattern that is simplified by pretty fast progression of weather systems across the country,” said Ricky Castro, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chicago.

Castro said a low pressure system headed into northern Illinois on Saturday will bring more spring rain.

“Most of the area should get rain, then portions of northern Illinois expect to get some wet snow accumulation,” Castro said. “It could come down at a heavy clip at times just depending on the exact track of the low.”

The ebb and flow of the wet weather season is to be expected, Castro said.

“It is not atypical for early spring, unfortunately,” he said. “It looks like at least for the first 10 days or so of the month we will be dealing with the temperatures on the cooler side of the average.”

Castro said the active pattern causing all the up and down temperatures has been driven by faster progression of weather systems across the area.

“Basically, you have a pretty fast upward jet stream helping steer systems across the country quicker,” he said.

That jet stream is likely to slow down in the middle of next week, Castro said, resulting in more showers next Thursday and Friday while temperatures remain in the 40s and 50s.