A Winter Storm Watch has been issued for the entire Chicago area with forecasts now calling for more than 8 inches to fall over much of region starting Saturday night with the potential to “raise havoc” on Super Bowl Sunday.
It’s not the “historic” storm billed for the East Coast earlier this week that dumped more than 2 feet over parts of New England, but it would certainly be the most significant snowfall of the season for the area.
A “storm system developing over the Great Plains will raise havoc across portions of the central U.S. this weekend,” the National Weather Service said Friday.
Significant snow expected to begin Sat nite and continue into early Mon morn. Snow amounts in excess of 6" poss. pic.twitter.com/rEQSjJBzqs
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) January 30, 2015
The storm watch, which covers all of northern Illinois and Indiana, and parts of several other Midwest states, will last from Saturday evening through 6 a.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
Snow will develop across the area Saturday evening and continue at times through Sunday night, with some significant accumulation becoming more and more likely, according to NWS.
As of late Friday afternoon, forecasters are calling for more than 6 inches of snow in area of north of I-88, and possibly more than 8 inches south of I-88.
And that will mean reduced visibility, snow-covered roads and overall treacherous driving conditions on one of the biggest party days of the year Sunday.
Northeast winds will also be increasing, which could lead to blowing and drifting snow. Saturday’s high will be about 36 early, but decreasing as the storm begins and dropping to a low of 25 overnight. That 25 will also be the high on Sunday, while Sunday night will fall into single digits with a high of 9.
The snow will be caused by a low-pressure system expected to form over Colorado Saturday and track into the Ohio River Valley by Sunday, creating a large swath of accumulating snow across the Midwest, the weather service said.
