McHenry, Lake counties could see 2 to 4 inches of snow; messy commutes possible across northern Illinois

Heavy, wet snow overnight into Friday could sharply reduce visibility and make travel slippery, the National Weather Service warned Thursday.

A winter weather advisory issued Thursday afternoon advised that snow was in the forecast for McHenry and Lake counties from 3 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday with total accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

The National Weather Service warned that the hazardous conditions — including slushy snow accumulations — are likely to impact portions of the morning commute. Travelers should slow down and use caution when driving, the weather service warned.

While the winter weather advisory was targeted to the most northern counties along the Wisconsin border, most of northern Illinois was under a hazardous weather outlook, which forecasted a mix of rain and snow developing late Thursday, mainly north of the Interstate 80 corridor and with rain to the south.

The hazardous weather outlook applied to Boone, parts of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, La Salle, Lee, Livingston, McHenry, Ogle, Will and Winnebago counties, the weather service said.

Precipitation is expected to change to snow early Friday morning, mainly for areas north of Interstate 88, the outlook advises. Slushy wet snow and sharply reduced visibilities could affect the morning commute.

Temperatures are expected to warm above freezing through the late morning and afternoon on Friday, the winter weather advisory states.