After a day in the 50s, Chicago area expected to be hit with winter storm of sleet, freezing rain and up to 7 inches of snow

After a day in the 50s, the Chicago area is expected to get hit with sleet, freezing rain and snow as temperatures steadily drop Thursday.

As much as 7 inches of snow could fall in some parts of the Chicago area and many roads could be glazed over by ice, the National Weather Service said.

It has issued a winter storm warning from 3 a.m. until 9 p.m. Thursday for southern Cook County as well as Grundy, Kankakee, Kendall, La Salle, Livingston and Will counties in Illinois and Lake and Porter counties in Indiana.

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A winter weather advisory has been issued for northern and central Cook County as well as DuPage and DeKalb counties from 3 a.m. until 6 p.m. Thursday.

Freezing rain and sleet will start late Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Heavy snowfall is expected Thursday afternoon into the evening, with accumulations of 3 to 7 inches, the weather service said.

Wind gusts as high as 40 mph are expected throughout the day.

Temperatures will drop to around 14 Thursday night, with wind chills as low as minus-2.

Before the storm hits, temperatures are expected to reach as high as 53 on Wednesday.