Northern Illinois wakes up to snow Monday morning; temperatures surge to low 50s later this week

Temperatures in northern Illinois are expected to warm as the week progresses and hit the low 50s by Friday, but not before snow hit Sunday night into Monday morning, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.

There is a chance for some snow to fall Sunday evening into Monday throughout northern Illinois, National Weather Service Chicago meteorologist Jake Petr said Sunday. There are chances for accumulation of up to 2 inches of snow from Rockford south to Kankakee and southwest of there, Petr said.

The rest of the Chicago metropolitan area could see up to an inch of snow, Petr said. Since temperatures are still “quite chilly,” still in the single digits through the low teens Monday morning, the snow likely would stick and the roads could be slick, Petr said.

“It will make for slippery travel for those who are returning home from the holidays or have to work tomorrow morning,” Petr said. “Since wind won’t be a factor, any roadway will have potential for getting covered. Patchy spots could get higher than the 2-inch range.”

After Monday morning, though, things quiet down and temperatures should rise through the week. Temperatures will be in the lower 20s later in the day Monday. Northern portions of McHenry County could remain in the teens.

Tuesday through Friday temperatures will rise slowly from the 20s to lower 50s across the northern half of Illinois.

There is a chance of rain on Thursday and Friday, the result of warmer air lifting up which usually comes with some precipitation, Petr said.

Petr said he was “hesitant” to say if the warming trend would continue too far into January because “it is January.”

He encouraged people to go out and take advantage of the “warm stretch while we have it.”